ANNAPOLIS, Md.—The nation's leading time in the distance medley relay, a first place finish in the triple jump and five different events which updated Villanova's all-time indoor performance list made for a successful opening to the indoor track & field season on Saturday afternoon.  There were 32 athletes in action for the Wildcats at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational, where the team competed in seven individual running events, two relays and six field events at Wesley A. Brown Field House. 
 

• Distance medley relay runs nation's leading time: The quartet of junior Casey Comber (Maple Glen, Pa.), junior Dan Powers (Chadds Ford, Pa.), junior Logan Wetzel (Saline, Mich.) and sophomore Nick Steele (Harvard, Mass.) recorded a winning time of 9:49.57.  Pending the results of other meets around the nation this weekend, it was the first DMR race under 10 minutes for the current indoor season.  Comber led off the race with a split of 2:59.55 over 1200 meters, Powers ran the 400 meter leg in 50.88, Wetzel covered 800 meters in 1:53.36 on the third leg and Steele anchored with a split of 4:07.80 over 1600 meters. 

 

• Cunningham makes collegiate debut with first place finish in triple jump: Freshman jumper Malik Cunningham (St. Andrew, Jamaica) recorded a winning mark of 14.54 meters in the triple jump.  He registered that distance on his second attempt of the day after opening with a jump of 14.14 meters.  He also had a measurement of 14.52 meters on his fourth jump.  In the first outing of his collegiate career, Cunningham debuted at ninth on the all-time Villanova performance list in the triple jump and fourth on the program's all-time indoor list.  His mark Saturday was the longest triple jump by a Wildcats athlete since Robert Sainvil cleared 15 meters during the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons.

 

• Kelly reaches new heights in the high jump: Sophomore Jacob Kelly (Longmeadow, Mass.) was the runner-up in the high jump with a lifetime best height of 2.05 meters.  That mark puts him into eighth place on the Villanova performance list in the high jump, and sixth on the Wildcats indoor list.  His previous personal best had been 2.03 meters which was recorded during the 2018 outdoor season.  Kelly entered the competition when the bar was at 1.90 meters and he was successful on his first attempts at 1.90, 1.95 and 2.00 meters.  He then cleared the bar at 2.05 meters on the second try.  The top three finishers in the field all had a mark of 2.05 meters, with all three being eliminated when the bar was raised to 2.10 meters. 

 

• Gallen Shows Promise in the 60 Meters: Graduate transfer Troy Gallen (Glen Mils, Pa.) finished third in the 60 meters with a time of 6.93.  That puts the former college football player into fifth place on the Villanova performance list in the 60 meters following his first collegiate track & field meet.  Gallen was an all-state performer in the 60 meters at nearby Malvern Prep in 2012 before going on to be a four-year member of the Delaware football team.

 

• Conboy Starts the Season Strong in the pole vault: Junior Thomas Conboy (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) cleared a height of 4.70 meters in the pole vault and recorded an indoor personal best.  He tied for fourth in the competition and was successful on his first attempt at 4.70 meters.  Conboy earlier began the day by clearing the bar at 4.40 meters on his third and final try, before succeeding on his initial attempts at 4.55 and 4.70 meters.  Conboy began the day in a three-way tie for seventh place on Villanova's indoor performance list in the pole vault and now has that spot to himself.  His lifetime best in the pole vault is 4.71 meters outdoors, while his previous indoor best had been 4.65 meters at last year's Columbia Challenge. 

 

• Anczarski sets new personal best in weight throw: Junior thrower Jadyn Anczarski (Ringtown, Pa.) tallied a mark of 15.15 meters in the weight throw.  His previous personal best had been 14.29 meters at last year's Columbia Challenge, and he eclipsed that distance twice in Saturday's meet.  He threw for 14.64 meters on his fifth attempt of the day and then recorded the mark of 15.15 meters on his sixth and final throw.  Anczarski is the seventh athlete in school history to surpass 15 meters in the weight throw and the first since Drew King threw for 15.85 meters at the 2014 BIG EAST Championships.

 

• New faces: Four athletes made their first appearance in a Villanova uniform in Saturday's meet.  In addition to the debuts of Gallen, Cunningham and Potts, freshman Peter Willis (St. Charles, Ill.) competed in the high jump and came in fourth with a mark of 1.95 meters. 

 

• Next up: Villanova will next compete in the Gotham Cup on Friday beginning at 2 p.m.  The meet takes place at Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex in Staten Island, N.Y.