MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Seniors Molly Benson and Charlie Hinckley led the way for the Wildcats on the first day of the WVU Invitational at the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park in Morgantown, W.Va.
 
Benson recorded a new personal best in the 500 freestyle prelims clocking in at 4:53.44. She later went on to improve her time in the final, tapping the wall at 4:53.23 to finish fourth overall. In the 50 freestyle, the Kensington Md. native swam 23.81 to earn a spot in the final where she finished in the top twenty-five clocking 24.03. Benson joined forces with graduate student Lauryn Johnson, senior Cara Stapleton and junior Lainey Quinones to finish sixth in the 400 medley relay in 1:34.06.
 
The trio of Johnson, Stapleton and Quinones were the top Villanova finishers in the 50 freestyle prelim earning a spot in the final. Leading the way was Quinones at 23.67 followed by Stapleton (23.76) and Johnson (23.77). In the final, the trio stormed to the finish as Stapleton tapped the wall in 23.70 to finish 13^th followed by Quinones (23.71) and Johnson (24.00) in 14^th and 16^th respectively.
 
Other notable performances came by way of senior Audrey Pastorek and freshman Peri Gaguzis. Pastorek has been dominant all season for the Wildcats and it showed when she finished third in the 200 IM final tapping the wall at 2:00.96, less than one second off her personal best. While in her first season as a Wildcat, Gaguzis achieved a new personal best in the 500 freestyle clocking in at 4:57.33 to finish 11^th.
 
On the men's side, Hinckley led the way for the Wildcats finishing eighth in the 500 freestyle final in 4:33.74. The New York, N.Y. native also finished eighth in the prelims clocking 4:31.20 to qualify through to the final.
 
Villanova had a strong showing in the relay events as Hinckley, junior Henry Halloran, and sophomores Gavin Jones and Sam Randall teamed up to finish sixteenth in the 400 medley in 3:24.23. In the 200 medley relay, junior Patrick Hemingway, sophomore Henry Gingrich, freshman Mikey Thurk, and Randall combined for a time of 1:23.63 to finish eleventh.
 
Other notable performances came by way of seniors Nolan Danus and freshman Justin Nowicki. Not too far behind his teammate Hinckley, Nowicki tapped the wall at 4:35.47 in the 500 freestyle final. While in the 200 IM, Danus finished 17^th in a time of 1:50.83 to notch another top-20 finish for the 'Cats.
 
Action will resume tomorrow with prelims starting at 9:30 a.m. with finals closing out the night at 6 p.m.
 
For all of the latest updates surrounding the program, follow Villanova Swimming and Diving on X, formally known as Twitter, and Instagram @novaswimdive.