NEW YORK—Junior sprinter Jane Livingston (Lancaster, Pa.) came in fourth in the final of the 60 meter hurdles to highlight the results for three Villanova athletes in competition on the first day of the Columbia Challenge on Friday afternoon. Livingston, senior Trinity Hart (Scotch Plains, N.J.) and senior Liv Morgan (Bronx, N.Y.) were in action in the 60 meters, the hurdles and he long jump at The Armory to kick off two days of competition in New York.
 
In her first races since lowering her lifetime PR to 8.32 at the Villanova Invitational two weeks ago, Livingston approached that mark in both the preliminary heats and the final on Friday afternoon. She won her heat in 8.35 and had the second-fastest time among 33 competitors in the preliminaries. Livingston was an automatic qualifier for the final by winning her heat and she came in fourth in the final in 8.36. With her win in the first of four heats, Livingston has now finished first in five of her six races on the year.
 
Hart and Morgan each competed in the both the 60 meters and the long jump during Friday's action. Morgan recorded a time of 8.33 in the unseeded section of the 60 meters and Hart crossed the line in 7.94 in the preliminary heats of the seeded section. They each went on to post strong marks in the long jump later in the day. Hart came in 15^th out of 47 entries with a distance of 5.66 meters and Morgan measured a mark of 5.13 meters for the day.
 
The distance of 5.66 meters for Hart was an indoor personal best for Hart and the longest she has jumped indoors since her collegiate debut at the Wesley A. Brown Invitational in January 2019. The distance was also just three centimeters off the lifetime best mark of 5.69 meters Hart registered during the 2021 outdoor campaign.
 
Saturday's event schedule for the Wildcats includes competition in both the Columbia Challenge and the concurrent Dr. Sander Invitational at The Armory. Villanova's running events on Saturday include the 400 meters, the 800 meters, the Mile and the 3000 meters as well as the 4x400 meter relay. Field events include the high jump and pole vault, while the first pentathlon of the year will also be contested during the day.