O'Connor and Shay Lead Wildcats To Top 10 Finish at Under Armour Pre-National Invitational

Villanova used a strong performance throughout its lineup to surge to a ninth place team finish

Villanova Women's Cross Country

Under Armour Pre-National Invitational

October 16, 2026
LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course
Terre Haute, Ind.

Ninth Place — 376 Points
Villanova surged to a top-10 finish in a 43-team field featuring seven nationally-ranked squads, including the nation's top two teams and three of the top seven.

Meet Highlights

13th → 11th → 9th

The Wildcats improved their team standing at every checkpoint, moving from 13th at 2K to 11th at 4K before gaining two more places at the finish.

1.8 Seconds

Senior Tilly O'Connor (20:10.0) and junior Rosie Shay (20:11.8) led Villanova for the second straight meet.

Five 6K PRs

Rosie Shay, Maeve Smith, Bella Walsh, Hannah Jicha and Therese Trainer ran personal-best 6K times.

A Gutsy Finish Throughout the Lineup

Six of Villanova's eight runners improved their standing over the final 2,000 meters, including four who passed at least 10 runners in the home stretch. The Wildcats' five scorers finished within 1:01.3 of one another in a field of 328 runners.

Regional Statement: Villanova entered the meet fourth in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region rankings. Penn and Pittsburgh, the teams ranked fifth and sixth, finished 24th and 29th as the Wildcats strengthened their standing heading into postseason competition.

A Familiar One-Two: O'Connor placed 37th and Shay followed in 39th. Their 1.8-second gap was their smallest since Shay's collegiate debut in the 2024 season opener. Sophomore Maeve Smith was Villanova's third finisher in her season debut, placing 70th in 20:40.4. Junior Bella Walsh (104th, 20:56.3) and Zoe Mosher (136th, 21:11.3) completed the scoring lineup.

Personal-Best Performances: Shay and Walsh set 6K cross country PRs for the second straight meet, improving by 2.6 and 13.5 seconds, respectively. Smith lowered her previous best by 23.2 seconds. First year Hannah Jicha ran 21:13.4, improving by 22.3 seconds in her second collegiate 6K race, while senior Therese Trainer lowered her PR by 12.3 seconds to 21:42.9.

Up Next: Friday's team performance builds significant momentum as Villanova prepares for the BIG EAST Championships in Mechanicsville, Va., on Friday, October 30.

Complete Meet Results

Villanova Results

Runner	Place	Time
Tilly O'Connor	37th of 328	20:10.0
Rosie Shay	39th	20:11.8
Maeve Smith	70th	20:40.4
Bella Walsh	104th	20:56.3
Zoe Mosher	136th	21:11.3
Hannah Jicha	149th	21:13.4
Cecilia Montagnese	193rd	21:30.4
Therese Trainer	220th	21:42.9

Team Scores

Team	Place	Points
BYU	1st	84
North Carolina State	2nd	88
Notre Dame	3rd	213
Clemson	4th	229
North Carolina	5th	249
Duke	6th	260
Indiana	7th	324
Boston College	8th	341
Villanova	9th of 43	376
Kentucky	10th	380
Vanderbilt	11th	415
Syracuse	12th	435
Michigan	13th	440
Auburn	14th	443
Wyoming	15th	447
Connecticut	16th	463
North Dakota	17th	470
SMU	18th	474
Utah Valley	19th	550
Florida State	20th	551
Utah State	21st	562
Lipscomb	22nd	584
Colorado State	23rd	598
Penn	24th	610
Liberty	25th	620
Illinois	26th	679
Arizona	27th	692
Montana State	28th	748
Pittsburgh	29th	749
Kansas	30th	784
Western Michigan	31st	803
Ole Miss	32nd	819
Cal Baptist	33rd	853
Portland	34th	859
Saint Louis	35th	899
Iona	36th	902
Indiana State	37th	992
Loyola (Ill.)	38th	1021
Quinnipiac	39th	1049
Ohio	40th	1078
Miami (Ohio)	41st	1109
South Dakota State	42nd	1155
Dayton	43rd	1259

Top 10 Individuals

Place	Runner	Team	Time
1st	Hannah Gapes	North Carolina State	18:57.6
2nd	Faith Chelangat	Auburn	19:15.5
3rd	Ann Lemirisho	Kentucky	19:16.8
4th	Silvia Jelelgo	Clemson	19:18.5
5th	Mercy Chepkemoi	Arizona	19:19.1
6th	Katy Zang	Indiana	19:20.7
7th	Doricah Minsari Isoe	Kentucky	19:28.6
8th	Bethany Michalak	North Carolina State	19:29.9
9th	Taylor Rohatinsky	BYU	19:33.1
10th	Victoria Garces	Duke	19:34.9