CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The best of three attempts of the day was worth waiting for as junior triple jumper Gina Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) cleared 12 meters in her signature event for the first time in her career. She posted a mark of 12.02 meters at the Virginia Challenge on Saturday afternoon to move into fifth place in school history. Villanova wrapped up three days of competition in Virginia with the 400 meters, 800 meters and triple jump on its Saturday docket at Lannigan Field.
 
Smith fouled on her first two attempts in the opening flight of the triple jump before leaping into first place in the flight with her final jump of the day. Her distance of 12.02 meters is the first time she has passed the 12-meter milestone during her career. Prior to Saturday's outing, her top marks in 2026 had been an outdoor season best of 11.66 meters at Rutgers last weekend and previous lifetime best of 11.94 meters indoors. Her new PR on Saturday is the Wildcats best jump in nearly a full decade.
 
The performance led to a trio of fives for Smith, who surged two spots on the program's all-time performance list into fifth place and moved up three spots on the outdoor-only list into the same position. Smith also leaped into fifth place on this year's BIG EAST performance list in the triple jump. She is a two-time BIG EAST scorer in her collegiate career, including a sixth place finish at this year's indoor conference championships in February.
 
Three other athletes were in competition for Villanova on Saturday. Junior sprinter Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) posted a time of 55.29 in the 400 meters and freshman Kate Borton (Auckland, New Zealand) added a time of 58.68. In the 800 meters, freshman Gabby Pistner (St. Marys, Pa.) finished 10^th with a time of 2:11.53 which is just a tenth of a second off her season best mark.