STORRS, Conn.—Sophomore sprinter Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) is not only the second-fastest performer in school history in the 400 meter hurdles, but she also lays claim to the fastest time in the event in her own family. It took the former to achieve the latter, as Allen recorded a sensational personal best time of 58.01 to win her second straight BIG EAST title at George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon.
 
Allen was already fifth on the all-time Villanova performance list in the 400 meter hurdles prior to Saturday's race, but she lowered her lifetime PR by 1.44 seconds to surge three spots into second in school history. The former Wildcats great who is now behind her in third place is Allen's mom, Debbie, whose collegiate PR was 58.37 set on May 13, 1984 during the ECAC Championship at Penn State. Debbie was herself a back-to-back BIG EAST champion in the 400 meter hurdles, winning gold medals in the event in 1984 and 1985. Olivia has now matched that feat in the first two seasons of her collegiate career.
 
"It feels pretty good," Allen said of the family connection associated with Saturday's race. "She's definitely happy for me, I'm sure. Definitely when I was younger, she was there helping me practice even if I didn't want to but keeping me motivated and loving track. Just keep dropping down the times is what I like to do."
 
That is an accurate statement on Allen's part, as she has steadily lowered her top time in the hurdles over the past 12 months. She broke one minute for the first time when she won her first BIG EAST title in 59.75 last season. Allen lowered the mark to 59.45 at this year's Penn Relays just three weeks ago before following it up with Saturday's breakthrough performance.
 
"A lot of belly breathing and a lot of visualizing," Allen explained about how she prepares for a big race. "There was a lot of visualizing before this race, and it went out perfect."
 
As for keeping such an elite level of success in the family? It's nothing new for a Villanova program that is so rich with a tradition of excellence. The Wildcats have won nine BIG EAST titles in women's 400 meter hurdles, with Olivia and Debbie accounting for four of the nine. The only other athlete to win the event twice is Cassy Bradley in 1986 and 1987. Her older sister Patty is the school record holder (56.26), while it was Cassy who won the text two BIG EAST gold medals after Debbie's run in 1984 and 1985.
 
History and family make for a nice footnote, but the more immediate significance of Allen's race on Saturday is her ability to carve out her own unique path in her career. That ability extended Allen's 2025 outdoor season, as her time of 58.01 should qualify her for the NCAA East Preliminary meet in Jacksonville, Fla. later this month. The meet serves as the early rounds of the NCAA Championships and this would be Allen's first career appearance at the meet.
 
Oh, and she wasn't done even for the day after winning the 400 meter hurdles title. Less than an hour after the race, Allen returned to the track and anchored Villanova to a silver medal performance in the 4x400 meter relay. She had a split of 54.15 on the anchor leg – her fastest career split on the 400 meter leg of a relay race, naturally – and the Wildcats recorded a time of 3:39.75 to make the awards podium in the 4x400 relay for the second straight year.
 
Allen is a three-time BIG EAST champion and a six-time All-BIG EAST performer through the first two years of her collegiate career. She is set to become the first Villanova athlete to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary in women's 400 meter hurdles since Danielle Burns in 2021.