STORRS, Conn.—Two events in the books and two medalists on the awards podium made for a good start to the 2026 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships Presented by JEEP for the Villanova women's track & field team on Thursday evening. Fifth year distance runner Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.) earned the silver medal in the 10000 meters and first year thrower Jess Bentum (West Deptford, N.J.) was the bronze medalist in the hammer. They each recorded lifetime bests in their events to garner their All-BIG EAST honors on places on the awards podium during ceremonies which will be held on Friday.
 
The only track final on Thursday was the women's 10000 meters in which Carroll turned in her latest outstanding performance. She lowered her lifetime PR by 27 seconds to post a time of 33:50.45 and finish in second place out of nine competitors. Carroll moved up a spot from her third place finish last year and matched her best individual BIG EAST finish after being the runner-up to teammate Sadie Sigfstead in the indoor 5K earlier this year.
 
Carroll got out to a strong start and was part of a lead pack of three runners by the time the race was a lap old. There was a little change or separation between the three runners until they had completed 18 of the 25 laps around the oval at the George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex. Carroll took the lead at that point with seven laps to go and remained in front for a full mile until there were just 600 meters to go. She upped the pace from 82-second laps down to 80 seconds when she took the lead.
 
This is the seventh career All-BIGE AST honor for Carroll spanning the cross country, indoor and outdoor seasons. She is one of two athletes in the field, along with 10K bronze medalist Chloe Trudel from Connecticut, who is scheduled to do the 10K/5K double this weekend. The championship race in the 5K is slated for 8:30 p.m. on Friday night.
 
Bentum got the day started on a strong note when she surpassed 50 meters for the first time in her career. She and fellow first year competitor Jane Carey (Webster, N.Y.) posted their best marks of the season to finish in third and fifth places, respectively. This is the second straight year and third time in the last five seasons that the Wildcats have had at least one thrower tally a top three finish in the hammer. Bentum is the sixth person overall in the Villanova record book to earn All-BIG EAST accolades in the event.
 
The second round of throws established momentum for both Bentum and Carey in Thursday's competition. Bentum threw 50.66 meters on her second attempt to move into third place out of 15 athletes who competed. She never relinquished that position, and she improved her mark to 51.25 meters on her third throw. That moved her up a spot on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the hammer as she went from eighth place to seventh in school history.
 
Carey threw 48.42 meters on her second throw for the best mark of her career. She was in fourth place at that point in the competition and maintained that standing until the last round of throws in the final. Carey ranks 11^th in school history in the hammer and is one of the trio of freshmen who have impacted the program's all-time performance list this season. Kiera Christensen (Alexandria, Minn.) ranks No. 9 on the last and posted a mark of 45.00 meters on Thursday.
 
Villanova's present and future is bright in the throwing events, with four of the team's first year athletes competing at the BIG EAST Championships this weekend. Bentum (shot put) and Christensen (discus) have another competition to come after Thursday's hammer, while Hallie Kees (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) competes in the javelin on Saturday afternoon.