Complete Results
Race Results with Splits

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—In one of the fastest races in school history, Villanova came in fourth in the distance medley relay with a time of 10:56.04 at the NCAA Championships on Friday night.  The lineup of sophomore Rachel McArthur (Bristow, Va.), junior Amari Onque-Shabazz (Plainfield, N.J.), junior McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) and senior Nicole Hutchinson (West Vancouver, B.C.) tallied the Wildcats highest finish in the DMR in six years. 
 
The field of 12 teams in Friday night's race at the Birmingham Crossplex featured some of the nation's stalwart heavyweight programs, Villanova among them.  It came down to a five-team race with 500 meters to go, with the Wildcats firmly in the mix along with eventual champion Oregon, BYU, Oklahoma State and Arkansas.  Those top five finishers crossed the line more than 11 seconds ahead of the remaining seven teams in the field.  By comparison, less than 3.5 seconds separated the top five teams from each other.    
 
Hutchinson ran the 1600 meter anchor leg in 4:31.39, a nearly identical split to the one of 4:31.35 she ran early this year when Villanova notched its qualifying time for the NCAA meet.  She got the baton with the Wildcats in third place, and quickly closed a gap between herself and the top two teams (Oregon, BYU).  From that initial burst until the pace picked up with 300 meters to go, Hutchinson was never more than a few strides off the lead while simultaneously holding off charges from Oklahoma State and Arkansas behind her. 
 
Villanova ran the race nearly four seconds faster than its qualifying time of 10:59.98 from the Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge earlier in the season.  The difference came from the splits on the first three legs of the race, with the Wildcats using the same lineup as it did from the earlier meet.  McArthur led off with a split of 3:23.20 over 1200 meters, Onque-Shabazz followed in 54.75 on the 400 meter leg and Keegan ran the 800 meter leg in 2:06.72.
 
Friday night's time of 10:56.04 is the third-fastest indoor distance medley relay in school history, and the 10^th fastest overall in the Villanova record book.  The only faster indoor times run by Wildcats teams came from the 2011 national champions (10:52.52) and the 1988 squad (10:54.34).  This is the 14^th time that Villanova has tallied an All-America finish in the DMR, and the seventh time the Wildcats have posted a top-four finish. 
 
McArthur nearly went wire-to-wire with the lead on the first 1200 meters of the national championship race.  She moved to the front early and held her spot until the final straightaway, eventually giving the baton to Onque-Shabazz with Villanova in second place and 0.35 seconds off the pace according to the official race splits. 
 
It was BYU and the Wildcats – wearing matching white singlets with blue trim on the shoulders – at the front of the pack for the second leg of the race.  Onque-Shabazz fought hard to maintain her position in second place, and Keegan took over with Villanova sandwiched between BYU and Oregon. 
 
Keegan quickly closed the gap between herself and BYU, and then the front-runners briefly pulled away with a sizable gap between themselves and the rest of the field.  That stayed the case until Oregon closed the gap midway through the 800 meter leg, and eventually took the lead with 250 meters left before the anchor runners got the baton. 
 
Saturday's action at the NCAA Championships will get started with freshman Sanaä Barnes (Keller, Texas) competing in the high jump starting at 2 p.m. Eastern time (1 p.m. Central).  Later in the evening, Hutchinson will return to the track in the national championship race of the 3000 meters.  That race goes off at 7:10 p.m. Eastern time and can be seen live on ESPN3.