BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—Graduate middle distance runner McKenna Keegan (West Grove, Pa.) was an automatic qualifier for the quarterfinal round of the 800 meters during competition on the second day of the NCAA East Preliminary at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on Thursday afternoon. There were five women's events on the Villanova schedule Thursday, with competition for the Wildcats in the hammer, javelin, 100 meter hurdles, 1500 meters and 800 meters. The four-day meet continues with the conclusion of the men's event schedule on Friday evening, while the women's meet will wrap up on Saturday night.
 
Keegan ran in the fourth heat out of six total in the first round. The top three finishers in each heat and the next six fastest times moved on to the quarterfinal heats later in the weekend. Keegan ran a steady race and crossed the finish line in 2:05.44 to place third in her heat and easily assure herself of a spot in the quarterfinals. The veteran member of the Villanova sprint and middle distance groups is a four-time All-American in the 800 meters and will be seeking her third straight appearance in the outdoor NCAA Championships when she races on Saturday evening.
 
The duo of freshman Maya Dorer (New York, N.Y.) and junior Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) competed in the final heat of the 800 meters on Thursday afternoon. Dorer placed sixth in the heat in 2:07.03 and Martinez was one spot behind her with a time of 2:09.02. The race marked the NCAA East Preliminary debut for Dorer and the second straight appearance at the meet for Martinez, who also competed in the 800 meters last year. They each earned All-BIG EAST honors earlier this month when Dorer came in second and Martinez third in the 800 meters at the conference championships.
 
Earlier on Thursday afternoon junior Jane Livingston (Lancaster, Pa.) ran in the first round heats of the 100 meter hurdles. She recorded a time of 13.71 to finish fifth in her heat. Livingston capped off a strong outdoor season in which she broke 13.6 seconds in the hurdles on three occasions and twice lowered her top time in the event. Her current personal best is 13.47 which came in a gold medal finish at the BIG EAST Championships to put Livingston sixth on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the hurdles.
 
Junior distance runner Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) was also in action on Thursday in the first round heats of the 1500 meters. She competed in the last of four heats and posted a time of 4:32.90 to wrap up her collegiate season. Smith ranged in distance from the 800 meters to the 5000 meters during the outdoor campaign, with her accomplishments for the season including anchoring Villanova's distance medley relay squad at the Penn Relays and coming in sixth in the 1500 meters at the BIG EAST Championships in addition to qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary for the first time in her career.
 
Thursday began and ended with two field events for the Wildcats as graduate Sade Meeks (North Babylon, N.Y.) competed in the hammer and senior Liv Morgan (Bronx, N.Y.) was in action in the javelin. Meeks threw for 53.16 meters in the first of three flights and finished off a season which saw her break the school record in the hammer on three separate occasions. Her current school mark of 59.58 meters came in a runner-up finish at the BIG EAST Championships earlier in the month.
 
Morgan was in the first of three flights of the javelin and threw for a distance of 38.63 meters on her first attempt of the day. The senior began her collegiate career as a multi-event athlete and had a strong outdoor season this year in the javelin and the triple jump. She registered a lifetime best mark of 45.63 meters in the javelin at the Florida Relays on April 1 and went on to score in both the javelin (fourth place) and the triple jump (fifth place) at the BIG EAST Championships two weeks ago.
 
The final day of women's competition at the NCAA East Preliminary is on Saturday when the Wildcats will be in action in the high jump, the 3000 meter steeplechase and the 800 meters. Men's competition continues on Friday with the 800 meters and the 5000 meters on the schedule.