MADISON, Wis.—Freshman Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) was the Wildcats top finisher for the second straight race and Villanova came in 22^nd in a loaded field of teams at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Friday afternoon.  Smith, sophomore Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) and senior Ann Campbell (Mission Hills, Kan.) each placed in the top 75 at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course.
 
The field of 36 teams that competed in the women's championship race included 20 nationally-ranked squads in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) top 30 poll.  This was also the first time this season that the Wildcats raced as a team against BIG EAST competition, with the Wisconsin meet featuring Villanova, Georgetown and Providence in a quasi-preview of next month's BIG EAST Championships. 
 
Smith covered the 6,000 meter Wisconsin course in 20:36.6 and placed 35^th overall out of 243 runners who competed in the championship race.  It was another strong effort from Smith, who was in the top 20 of the field at the 2000 meter and 4000 meter splits before the race began to string out.  Smith came in fourth overall at the Paul Short Run two weeks ago and was the runner-up to Olivere at the season-opening Main Line Invitational last month. 
 
In her first race since winning the Main Line meet, Olivere recorded a time of 20:57.0 to finish 63^rd overall.  Campbell was close behind her in 72^nd place with a time of 21:05.8.  The split of less than 30 seconds between the Wildcats top three finishers was a strong sign for the team's prospects going forward towards the upcoming postseason meets.  Villanova finished 43 points behind Georgetown and 55 points ahead of Providence in a close competition between the BIG EAST teams.  Each of the Wildcats first three runners crossed the finish line ahead of the top two Hoyas finishers.
 
Three more Villanova freshmen accounted for the team's other finishers in the race.  Nikki Merrill (Portsmouth, R.I.) recorded a time of 22:03.2 and finished six seconds ahead of Brynne Sumner (Canton, Ga.) who crossed the finish line in 22:09.8.  Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) posted a time of 22:27.7 in her collegiate debut after not running in the team's first two meets of the year. 
 
Wildcats head coach Gina Procaccio has mixed and matched her lineups through the first month of the 2019 campaign as the team focuses on building towards the BIG EAST and NCAA meets that loom on the second half of the season schedule.  First up among the championship competitions is the BIG EAST meet which takes place in Kenosha, Wis. on November 2.