STORRS, Conn.—Fifth year collegian Matt Bogdan (Howell, N.J.) finished fifth in the 3000 meter steeplechase in his outdoor BIG EAST debut while the duo of junior CJ Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Jack Fenlon (Laois, Ireland) scored in the 5000 meters as the 2026 BIG EAST Outdoor Track and Field Championships presented by JEEP concluded its second day of competition at George J. Sherman Family Sports Complex on Friday night. Sullivan came in fourth and Fenlon sixth in the 5K to wrap up the night, which followed an afternoon session in which nine runners advanced through the preliminary heats of their respective events and into Saturday finals.
 
Bogdan recorded a time of 9:07.21 in his second steeplechase race of the season. It is the third time in his collegiate career that Bogdan has run the steeplechase at a conference championship. He competed at North Carolina State during his undergraduate career and twice ran the steeplechase at the ACC Championships. He entered the weekend with a good chance to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary meet for the second time in his career.
 
The night ended with strong finishes by Sullivan and Fenlon in the 5000 meters. Sullivan came in fourth with a time of 13:50.52 and Fenlon was sixth in 13:58.82. Sullivan scored in the 5K for the third time in his career and second outdoors, while Fenlon's performance marks the first time he has scored (top eight finish) in an individual track event in BIG EAST competition. Villanova had five of the 14 finishers in the Friday night's race. Junior Bailey Habler (Sydney, Australia) finished ninth in 14:11.10, followed by sophomore Jack Coomber (Brisbane, Australia) with a time of 14:30.80 and junior Nick Sullivan (Middletown, N.J.) who crossed the line in 14:49.22.
 
Freshman thrower Yianni Papanikolas (Toms River, N.J.) finished fifth in the shot put for the Wildcats best result in its only field event of the day. Papanikolas threw 15.52 meters, while sophomore Chris Coulter (Philadelphia, Pa.) had a mark of 13.61 meters and senior Liam Anderson (Lebanon, N.J.) threw 12.65 meters.
 
Earlier in the day, senior Marco Langon (Raritan, N.J.) was the fastest qualifier to the final in the 1500 meters while leading four Wildcats who advanced out of the prelims. Langon and graduate student Sean Donoghue (Dublin, Ireland) won their heats of the 1500 meters; Donoghue took the first heat in 3:50.97 and Langon paced the second heat in 3:48.80. Sophomore Ben Thomas (Sydney, Australia) was an automatic qualifier in the second heat with a time of 3:49.05 and fifth year runner Devon Comber (Ambler, Pa.) advanced on time from the first heat in 3:52.36.
 
Perhaps the biggest performance of the day came from senior sprinter Amiri Prescod (Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago), a past champion in the 100 meters. Prescod's previous PR was 10.48 in a race that won him a gold medal on his home turf at Villanova Stadium two years ago. He had equaled that time earlier this season at Rutgers, and he eclipsed it on Friday with a new top time of 10.43 which secured him an automatic spot in the final. Prescod ran the fastest 100 meters by a Wildcats athlete since 1997, while freshman Christos Batalias (New York, N.Y.) broke 11 seconds for the first time in his career and posted a PR of 10.95.
 
Villanova has two qualifiers for the final in the 400 meter hurdles. Sophomore Liam Gluck (Beavercreek, Ohio) and senior Sal Barretta (Whitestone, N.Y.) each advanced on time out of their respective heats, Gluck in 54.16 and Barretta with a season best mark of 54.22. Junior sprinter Parker Turner (Los Angeles, Calif.) moved on to the final of the 200 meters with a time of 21.64 in Friday's heats.
 
Junior middle distance runner Dan Watcke (Hinsdale, Ill.) won the last of three prelims in the 800 meters in 1:52.57 to secure his time in the final. Watcke is a four-time BIG EAST medalist in the 800 meters and will be seeking a fifth podium finish in the event on Saturday afternoon.
 
There were five Wildcats competing in the 400 meters on Friday, with three coming away with either lifetime or season best marks. Leading the way was junior Ethan Walls (Ridgefield, Conn.) who lowered his PR to 47.87 and was less than a tenth of a second off qualifying for the final. Senior Luke Rakowitz (Dallas, Texas) notched his best time of the season at 48.24 and senior Jimmy Milgie (Wildwood, Mo.) posted a personal best of 48.33. The performance for Milgie is one that he has been building towards. His previous PR of 48.46 had stood since his high school career, but Milgie had broken 48.50 twice in college and once earlier this year when he ran 48.49 at the Rutgers Relays.
 
Villanova is currently in seventh place in the team standings with 21 points at the meet. Eight of the 22 events that make up the meet program have been scored thus far. Saturday's events begin with javelin competition at 11 a.m., while the first track event is the 4x100 meter relay at 12:06 p.m.