RALEIGH, N.C.—Senior pole vaulter Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) got a busy weekend at the Raleigh Relays started when she competed in the invitational section of the pole vault at Paul H. Derr Track on Thursday afternoon. Preston was the lone Villanova competitor in action on the first day of the meet hosted by North Carolina State, although several events will be on the Wildcats docket on Friday and Saturday.
 
Weather delays throughout the day on Thursday caused the athletes in the women's pole vault to wait for a window to compete for most of the day. The competition was originally slated for a 10 a.m. start but was pushed back three separate times before eventually starting just after 2:30 p.m. with the unseeded section.
It was after 4 p.m. when the invitational section began.
 
Preston was successful on her first jump of the day when she cleared the bar at 3.70 meters. It was her second straight outing to begin the outdoor season after Preston competed in the Penn Challenge last Saturday. In the meet on Thursday afternoon she was eliminated on three missed attempts with the bar at a height of 3.85 meters and wound up tied for eighth place in the field of competitors.
 
The first event on the Villanova schedule Friday morning is the 5000 meters which gets underway at 10 a.m.