PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—After three days of non-stop competition around the famed Franklin Field oval, the final women's race of the entire weekend belonged to Villanova in the Eastern section final of the 4x400 meter relay. The team of Myonica Jackson (Bolingbrook, Ill.), Alex Stasichin (Massapequa, N.Y.), Micah Trusty (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) raced to a first place finish with a season best time of 3:44.63.
 
Villanova was the fastest qualifier for the Eastern final after running 3:45.05 in the heats on Friday night. Jackson led off that race as well, with Martinez running second and Trusty on the anchor leg. Stasichin stepped into Saturday's lineup after Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) ran the third leg a day earlier. The time of 3:44.63 ranks third in the BIG EAST this season. Trusty ran a split of 54.34 on the third leg and Martinez anchored in 55.91 with a first place finish well in hand.
 
The significance of the Wildcats two 4x400 races this weekend goes beyond the result or the raw times recorded. In Friday's heats the trio of Trusty, Allen and Martinez was running their second race of the day after competing on Villanova's distance medley relay earlier in the day. It was the third race of the weekend for Allen, who made her Penn Relays debut running in the 400 meter hurdles championship on Thursday evening.
 
Martinez is the most experienced veteran on the Wildcats roster, although Trusty in her second collegiate season has already made an impact for Villanova individually in the middle distances and on relay teams at the Penn Relays and BIG EAST Championships. The races this weekend allowed Martinez, Trusty and members of the Wildcats sprint group to continue their buildup for the rest of the outdoor season as the team looks ahead to hosting the BIG EAST meet next month followed by the NCAA regional and national meets in the weeks to follow.
 
Therein lies an important part of the athlete experience at the Penn Relays, the world's oldest and largest track & field meet but also a competition which is in so many ways a proving ground for athletes at all stages of their athletic and personal development. In three races this weekend Trusty recorded an 800 meter split of 2:03.66 on the distance medley relay as well as 400 meter splits of 55.08 on Friday and 54.34 on Saturday. 
 
That effect was on display throughout the day on Saturday, as a pair of former Villanova standouts competed as professionals in the elite Olympic Development sections of their respective events. Angel Piccirillo set an all-time Penn Relays record for collegiate women by winning nine Championship of America watches during her Wildcats career (2013-17). She has gone on to have a successful professional career and on Saturday finished seventh in the 1500 meters.
 
A more recent Villanova graduate is McKenna Keegan who finished third in the Olympic Development 800 meters on Saturday afternoon. She was a seven-time All-American for the Wildcats (2016-22) and ran the third-fastest time in school history in the 800 meters (2:01.25) during the 2021 outdoor season.