NEW ORLEANS—After their near-world record performance at the Penn Relays this weekend the men's track & field 4xMile relay squad of
Sean Donoghue (Dublin, Ireland),
Charlie O'Donovan (Cork, Ireland),
Marco Langon (Raritan, N.J.) and
Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) were named the National Athletes of the Week by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday afternoon. It is the first time since 2015 that Villanova has garnered a weekly national honor.
The world record in the 4xMile relay has stood since 1985 and seldom been threatened, but the Wildcats squad came within less than three seconds of it with their Championship of America winning time of 15:51.91 at Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon. It is the second straight year that Villanova has won the 4xMile relay at the world's oldest and largest track & field meet; even with three of the same runners on the team from last season the Wildcats beat their 2023 winning time by more than 22 seconds. The race is the first in Penn Relays history to be run under 16 minutes.
Villanova came within 2.83 seconds of the world record of 15:49.08 which was set on August 17, 1985 by an Irish team which included Wildcats head coach
Marcus O'Sullivan and another Villanova legend in
Eamonn Coghlan. O'Sullivan graduated one year before the record was set and teamed with Coghlan,
Ray Flynn and
Frank O'Mara to set the world record in Dublin, Ireland. As O'Sullivan watched his own team nearly break the nearly 39-year-old record, Flynn was also at Franklin Field looking on from the infield on Saturday. It is only the second time since 1985 that a team has even come within 10 seconds of the world standard.
The winning time of 15:51.91 for the Wildcats becomes the new collegiate, Villanova, Penn Relays and Franklin Field record. Villanova shattered the previous collegiate mark of 16:03.27 by more than 18 seconds. It had been held by Oregon since May 9, 2009. The previous school record for the Wildcats was 16:10.6 and had also been a Penn Relays winner back on April 29, 1974 by a team of Tom Gregan, Brian McElroy, Eamonn Coghlan and John Hartnett.
Each of the four runners in the Villanova lineup were already sub-four minute milers prior to Saturday's race, and three of the four posted sub-four splits in the race. Donoghue led off with a split of 3:59.32 and was followed by O'Donovan at 4:00.09 for the second leg. On the second half of the relay, Langon split 3:58.18 and Murphy anchored in 3:54.32.
It was not until the final 50 meters of the race that the Wildcats held the lead for good. Murphy made up ground going into the final turn and surged into the lead halfway down the final straightaway as Villanova held off Virginia (15:52.30) and Georgetown (15:52.56) in a finish that was as thrilling to watch as it was historic. Murphy was named the Collegiate Men's Athlete of the Week after anchoring the Wildcats to Championship of America victories in the distance medley relay on Friday afternoon and the 4xMile relay Saturday.
The only previous National Athlete of the Week honor for Villanova in track & field was on April 28, 2015 when Jordy Williamsz was named the winner after he similarly led the Wildcats to a 4xMile relay championship (as well as a 4x800 meter relay title) at that year's Penn Relays. Villanova has also garnered one national weekly honor in cross country by Patrick Tiernan in 2014, two years before he became the NCAA individual champion.
