RALEIGH, N.C.—The top two performers in Villanova history in the 3000 meter steeplechase showed terrific form in their season debuts in the event at the Raleigh Relays on Friday evening. Senior Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) and junior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) each posted top-10 times in Wildcats history at Paul H. Derr Track to highlight a number of strong performances by Villanova athletes on the second day of competition at the annual meet on the North Carolina State campus.
 
Olivere came in second out of 38 competitors in the steeplechase with a time of 10:01.65 and Helwigh was close behind her in third place with a personal best time of 10:04.14. Olivere is the school record holder in the steeplechase and the only athlete in program history to break 10 minutes, which she did on two occasions last year. Her time in Friday's race in Raleigh now slides in as the third-fastest all-time in the Wildcats record book, while Helwigh's new personal best comes in sixth overall on that list.
 
Helwigh lowered her lifetime PR by more than 1.5 seconds, as her previous fastest time had been 10:05.86 at the Virginia Challenge last season. The pair of Villanova distance runners have now combined to run each of the eight fastest steeplechase races in the history of the program. Olivere was the BIG EAST champion in the steeplechase last season and went on to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for the first time in her career.
 
Graduate middle distance runner McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) and junior Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) were each among the Wildcats athletes who had standout performances on Friday. Keegan ran the first official 1500 meter race of her collegiate career and impressed with a time of 4:18.94. Although it is early in the season, her time is a BIG EAST-leading mark in the 1500 meters and serves as further testament to Keegan's incredible versatility on the track. She typically competes in the 400 meters and the 800 meters, and is a three-time All-American in the latter event.
 
Smith posted a time of 4:22.55 in the 1500 meters in her first race at the distance this season. She had opened up the outdoor season by winning the 800 meters at the Penn Challenge last weekend. Smith's time on Friday came within six-tenths of a second of her lifetime best which was set during her scholastic career. Freshman Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) had a time of 4:28.51 in the 1500 meters on Friday and was followed by freshmen Emma McGill (Lebanon, N.J.), Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.) and Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.). McGill posted a time of 4:33.79, Robinson lowered her time from last week by more than a quarter of a second to cross the finish line in 4:36.39 and Carroll registered a time of 4:42.41.
 
Villanova had entries in the 100 meter hurdles, the 400 meters and the 5000 meters to round out its Friday event schedule. Junior sprinter Jane Livingston (Lancaster, Pa.) posted a time of 14.02 in her first hurdles race of the season, while classmate Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) led three Wildcats in the 400 meters with a time of 57.19. Freshmen Maya Dorer (New York, N.Y.) and Alex Stasichin (Massapequa, N.Y.) followed with times of 58.90 and 59.70, respectively. Sophomore distance runner Elizabeth Vaughn (Dayton, Ohio) posted a time of 17:44.79 in the 5000 meters.
 
The women's event schedule on Saturday features the long jump at 10:30 a.m. and the 800 meters at 12:45 p.m. Senior Trinity Hart (Scotch Plains, N.J.) competes in the long jump while the group of Dorer, Martinez, Robinson, Smith and Stasichin are all scheduled to run in the 800 meters.