PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—It was a big day for the Villanova sister duo of junior Gina Smith and sophomore Jenny Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) as the pair each posted PRs in their events at the Penn Classic on Friday afternoon. Gina moved up to seventh place on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the triple jump and Jenny tallied her second straight PR in the long jump during competition at The Ott Center. The first day of the two-day meet featured all infield events while Saturday will transition to the oval for the majority of the track races.
 
Gina recorded a mark of 11.94 meters in the triple jump for her second PR in as many outings. Her distance is the longest by a Villanova triple jumper since April 23, 2016, and the longest indoor mark by a Wildcats athlete since that year's BIG EAST Championships. Gina started fast in Friday's outing and posted her mark of 11.94 meters on her first jump of the day. She surged three spots on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the triple jump, now ranking seventh overall and sixth on the program's indoor list.
 
The personal best effort was good enough to carry Gina into the final round. She finished seventh overall in the competition and recorded five measurable jumps on her six attempts. All were 11.38 meters or longer. The triple jump took place during the afternoon, after an earlier long jump competition in which Jenny also registered her second straight personal best.
 
Jenny's jump of 5.36 meters is three centimeters better than her mark in the same venue at the Penn Elite two weeks ago. Her new mark came on her second of three jumps and inches her closer towards the Wildcats all-time indoor top 10 performance list which cuts off at 5.49 meters.
 
In other action on Friday, first year thrower Jess Bentum (Deptford, N.J.) tallied her best mark of the season in the shot put and had the best throw out of three Villanova athletes in the weight throw. Junior Malaika Cunningham (Montego Bay, Jamaica) came in third in the high jump with a height of 1.73 meters.
 
The only track event for the Wildcats on Friday was the heats of the 60 meters in which junior Lore Olakunle (Elkridge, Md.) lowered her season best time to 7.84.