JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—There was no midnight madness for Villanova on the first night of the 2025 NCAA East Preliminary meet at Visit Jax Track at Hodges Stadium. No, there were a few minutes to spare on what still counted as Wednesday night when sophomore Dan Watcke (Hinsdale, Ill.) crossed the finish line in his national first round heat of the 800 meters. He and fifth year distance runner Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) in the 1500 meters braved a weather delay which lasted nearly five hours to advance to the quarterfinals in their respective events. Some athletes who ran the 10K Wednesday night – make that Thursday morning – did not take their first steps onto the track until just before 1 a.m.
 
It was a few minutes before 10 p.m. when Watcke sat contemplatively in the lobby of the team hotel as he got ready to head back to the track for the latest (at night) race of his career. He didn't recall ever starting a race after 10:00 at night, but at that moment he still had more than 90 minutes to go until he raced in the first of six heats of the 800 meters at 11:40 p.m. local time. Here's the thing about Watcke, however. He wasn't fazed. Not in the slightest. He may only be in his second year of collegiate competition, but he is a veteran performer whose career has taken him across the world, including recently the World Athletics U20 Championships in Peru (2024) and the Pan American U20 Championships in Puerto Rico (2023).
 
Watcke knew exactly what he needed to do to stay ready even as the start time of his race remained unknown for hour after hour during the delay. And when the 800 meters finally was contested in the waning minutes of the May 28 calendar date, Watcke's level of focus was clear as day even late at night and amidst a thick fog that blanketed the track after the severe weather moved out.
 
Out of six heats and 48 runners who started in the first round of the 800 meters, Watcke was the only one to post reverse splits in his two laps around the oval. He went out in 53.86 and led all runners in the field with a bell lap of 53.72. The only other athlete to break 54 seconds on their second lap was Handal Roban of Penn State who finished just ahead of Watcke (1:47.20 to 1:47.58) at the finish line in the first heat. The top three finishers in each heat and the next six fastest times moved on to the quarterfinals. Watcke ranked eighth overall among the 24 qualifiers for Friday night.
 
"Earlier" – apply a heavy dose of relativity to the use of the word – in the night, Murphy was clocked in exactly 3:40.00 in the first round heats of the 1500 meters. He tallied his eighth career race with a time of 3:40 or below while finishing second in his heat and third overall out of 47 competitors who started the event. He ran a steady and composed race to easily secure an automatic qualifying spot for the quarterfinals on Friday evening. Murphy is the all-time NCAA record holder in the 1500 meters with a time of 3:33.02 recorded at the Raleigh Relays earlier this season.
 
The first five runners in each heat and the next four fastest times advanced in the 1500 meters. Murphy is a veteran of the NCAA East Preliminary meet after having advanced through two rounds of the 1500 meters to reach the NCAA Championships in each of the last two seasons. He used exactly as much energy as he needed to on Wednesday night, never taking the lead in his heat but never dropping more than a stride or two off the leading pace either.
 
LONG JUMP
 
The first Villanova athlete to get underway on Wednesday was fifth year long jumper Justin Miller (Collierville, Tenn.) who finished the last of his three attempts a mere minutes before the meet was suspended a little after 5 p.m. as severe weather moved into the area. Miller competed in the first flight of the long jump and tallied a mark of 7.28 meters, seven centimeters further than he jumped at the BIG EAST Championships two weeks ago to earn a bronze medal.
 
Wednesday's national first round of the long jump closed a successful season for Miller, who as the BIG EAST bronze medalist both indoors and outdoors. His best outing of the year came at the Virginia Challenge on April 18 when he tallied a personal best mark of 7.57 meters. That put him into sixth place on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the long jump, adding to his sixth place indoor ranking with a distance of 7.26 meters from the BIG EAST Championships in February.
 
The biggest difference for Miller in his final collegiate season was the ability to focus exclusively on the long jump for the first time in his career. Previously a multi-event athlete earlier in his career at Memphis, he came to Villanova before the 2024 indoor season and competed in the long jump and javelin during his first year on the Main Line. Miller only competed in the long jump this year, leading to his marks in the program's all-time record book along with the two BIG EAST medals and his first career appearance at the NCAA East Prelims.
 
NEXT UP
 
Women's competition begins on Thursday in Jacksonville and the Wildcats will have three athletes in competition. The first to get underway will be Lizzie Martell (Essex Junction, Vt.) in the first round of the 800 meters at 4:20 p.m., followed by Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) in the first round of the 400 meter hurdles at 4:50 p.m. and Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) in the national semifinal round of the 10000 meters at 9:10 p.m.