VILLANOVA, Pa.—More than 400 student-athletes representing 10 teams are set to descend on Villanova Stadium this week for the 2024 BIG EAST Track and Field Championships presented by JEEP. This is the second straight year and the 27
th time overall that Villanova is hosting the outdoor conference championships. There are more than 60 entries from the hometown Wildcats alone for this weekend's meet, including 13 athletes who tallied podium finishes at last year's meet.
General admission to the BIG EAST Championships on Friday and Saturday starts at $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and children under 12. Additionally, BIG EAST students with their student ID and children under 3 are free, and there is no admission charge for Thursday's events. Seating for the championships will be general admission and tickets are on sale online.
Villanova has five individual event champions returning from the 2023 outdoor BIG EAST Championships, including women's senior
Roschell Clayton (Montego Bay, Jamaica) in the high jump and junior
Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) who won the 10,000 meters a year ago. Clayton is coming off winning a Penn Relays title in the high jump last month and is the Wildcats record holder in the event with a mark of 1.88 meters set indoors earlier this year. She and fellow Jamaican native
Malaika Cunningham (St. Andrew, Jamaica) are the top-ranked BIG EAST athletes in the high jump this season. Sigfstead is scheduled for the 5,000 meters this week after winning the indoor BIG EAST title in that event in February. She has also run the second-fastest 10K race in school history earlier this year.
On the men's side, Villanova is coming off an incredible performance at the Penn Relays where it won Championship of America titles in the distance medley relay and the 4xMile relay. Senior
Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) was the anchor of both those races, including the 4xMile squad which recorded the second-fastest time in world history while setting new collegiate, Penn Relays, Franklin Field and Villanova records with a time of 15:51.91. Murphy is the defending outdoor champion in the 5,000 meters and is scheduled to run the 1,500 meters this week. His winning time in last year's 5K set a Villanova Stadium and BIG EAST record.
Fifth year collegian
Sean Dolan (Ewing, N.J.) and junior
Sean Donoghue (Dublin, Ireland) are also defending champions from last season. Dolan is a six-time BIG EAST champion in the 800 meters and will be looking for his fourth consecutive outdoor conference title in the event. Donoghue is the defending champion in the 1500 meters and will run that event along with Murphy.
One of the events to watch during the week will be men's javelin where seniors
Nick Coffey (Cranston, R.I.) and
Andrew Grinnell (New Milford, Conn.) rank 1-2 in the BIG EAST this season. Plenty of eyes will be on the throwing events, as the Wildcats also feature junior
Tristan Bolinsky (Gordon, Pa.) who ranks second in the conference in the discus as well as fourth in both the shot put and the hammer. He is tripling in all three events during the week.
The women's throws include fifth year collegian
Adria Retter (Quakertown, Pa.) and graduate student
Alex Payne (Silverdale, Wash.) along with junior
Faith Haught (Payson, Ariz.) among several athletes to watch. Retter and Haught are ranked first and third, respectively, in the discus, while Payne and Retter are 3-4 in the hammer. Retter is a former Division III national champion in the discus who will be competing in the shot put, discus and hammer this week.
Fifth year collegian
Jane Livingston (Lancaster, Pa.) is the only women's athlete who is doubling in the 100 meters and the 100 meter hurdles this week. She won last year's silver medal in the hurdles and pulled off gold medals in both the 60 meters and the 60 meter hurdles earlier this year. She will be one of the Villanova athletes to watch along with first year athlete
Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) who is the top seed in the 400 meter hurdles and was an All-BIG EAST performer indoors on the 4x400 meter relay and distance medley relay.
In the men's sprints, the Wildcats have the top-ranked team in the conference in the 4x400 meter relay after the quartet of
Nick Mollica (Jackson, N.J.),
Jimmy Milgie (Wildwood, Mo.),
Jakob Kunzer (George Town, Grand Cayman) and
Luke Rakowitz (Dallas, Texas) posted a time of 3:11.43 in the college section final at the Penn Relays. Mollica and Rakowitz are running the 400 meter hurdles this week, while Kunzer and Milgie will each be in the 400 meters.
Among other distance events, the women's duo of
Micah Trusty (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) have starred for the Wildcats in the 800 meters. Trusty was the silver medalist outdoors last season and again indoors this year, while Martinez is a six-time BIG EAST medalist in the 800 meters and was the 2023 indoor conference champion. On the men's side sophomore
Marco Langon (Raritan, N.J.) and junior
Devon Comber (Ambler, Pa.) rank second and fourth, respectively, in the 5000 meters.
