PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—The very first throw that graduate student Maria Deaviz (Souderton, Pa.) took in a Villanova singlet set a school record early Saturday evening as she recorded a mark of 16.15 meters in the shot put. She is the first athlete in program history to surpass 16 meters in women's shot put and she broke the Wildcats previous mark which had stood for nearly four years. Deaviz finished first out of 21 competitors in the event.
 
Villanova's now former record in the shot put had been Sade Meeks' mark of 15.50 meters recorded indoors at Virginia Tech on February 5, 2022. Meeks, like Deaviz, became a Wildcats record holder in her team debut when she competed in the weight throw earlier in the 2022 indoor campaign. Deaviz comes to Villanova this season from Michigan and has thrown for as far as 17.97 meters in the shot put during her collegiate career.
 
In Saturday's competition at the Penn Select meet, Deaviz recorded her mark of 16.15 meters on her first throw and immediately surged into first place in the event standings. She had two other measurable throws during the competition, 15.78 meters and 16.01 meters, both of which would also have broken the former school record. Deaviz moves into 11^th place on the early season's Division I performance list pending the results of other meets around the country this weekend.
 
Villanova had four throwers competing in Saturday's meet, including Deaviz and a trio of first year collegians. Jane Carey (Webster, N.Y.) led three Wildcats who competed in the weight throw with an eighth place finish and a personal best mark of 14.54 meters. Jess Bentum (Deptford, N.J.) recorded PRs of 10.92 meters in the shot put and 14.24 meters in the weight throw, while Kiera Christensen (Alexandria, Minn.) recorded a mark of 12.70 meters in the weight throw.
 
Next up on the schedule for the Wildcats is another meet at The Ott Center in Philadelphia, next Saturday for the Quaker Invitational.