STORRS, Conn.—Sophomore sprinter Ajanae Thompson (Rahway, N.J.) recorded the fastest qualifying time for the final of the 100 meter hurdles and Villanova advanced seven runners in their respective events as the second day of competition at the 2025 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships presented by JEEP got underway at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex on Friday afternoon. The Wildcats had qualifiers for the final in the 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, 800 meters and 1500 meters. Action wraps up at the conference championships beginning on Saturday morning.
 
Thompson won the first of two heats in the 100 meter hurdles with her second-fastest time of the season. She crossed the finish line in 13.66 and was nearly half  second faster than any other competitor during the preliminary round. Thompson was the runner-up to her now graduated teammate Jane Livingston at the outdoor BIG EAST Championships last year. She won her first career conference title with a gold medal in the 60 meter hurdles at the indoor BIG EAST meet in March. Thompson's PR of 13.60 in the 100 meter hurdles from the Virginia Challenge last month puts her eighth on the program's all-time performance list.
 
The first preliminary event held on Friday afternoon was the women's 1500 meters. It turned out to be one of the best events of the weekend thus far for Villanova as all four of the team's competitors secured automatic qualifying spots for the final. Sophomore Tilly O'Connor (Spring Lake, N.J.) won her heat in 4:26.26, just in front of first year teammate Bella Walsh (Wilmington, Del.) who posted a time of 4:26.49.
 
That was the first of two heats; in the second, first year Rosie Shay (Middletown, N.J.) and sixth year Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) recorded times of 4:23.29 and 4:24.10, respectively. It is the first time since 2018 that he Wildcats will have four runners in the final of the 1500 meters. The feat matches this year's indoor BIG EAST Championships when the quartet of Walsh, Shay, Smith and senior Emma McGill (Lebanon, N.J.) all reached the final of the mile.
 
Fifth year collegian Lizzie Martell (Essex Junction, Vt.) made her BIG EAST Championships debut on Friday and comfortably moved on to the final of the 800 meters with a time of 2:10.75. The graduate student transfer from New Hampshire is enjoying a big outdoor campaign in her first year wearing the Villanova singlet and was coming off a lifetime PR of 2:03.93 at the Larry Ellis Invitational earlier this month. Martell was a two-time NCAA East Preliminary qualifier in the 800 meters during her undergraduate career at UNH and is in position to make a third trip to the meet with the Wildcats this season.
 
Defending BIG EAST champion Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) is returning to the final of the 400 meter hurdles after she came in second in her preliminary heat. She posted a time of 1:00.77 and will line up for what should be a fascinating final in the event on Saturday afternoon. Four of the eight qualifiers for the final posted times within eight-tenths of a second of each other during Friday's preliminary round. Allen's lifetime PR is 59.45 and came at the Penn Relays last month.
 
Sophomore middle distance runner Caelen O'Leary (Taunton, Mass.) registered a PR of 2:12.56 in the 800 meters in just her second race of the outdoor season. She cut more than a second off her previous top time of 2:13.70 set last year during her collegiate rookie campaign.