STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—It was a strong evening for the Villanova men's track & field sprint group as the Wildcats competed in the Big Apple Invitational at Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex on Saturday. Personal best times in the 200 meters along with the fifth-fastest time in school history in the 60 meters were among the team's highlights from the meet.
 
Freshman Amiri Prescod (Chaguanas, Trinidad and Tobago) continued his outstanding first collegiate season with a runner-up finish in the 60 meter dash. He posted a time of 6.89 in the preliminary heats to rank second out of 28 runners, then advanced to the final and lowered his time to a personal best clocking of 6.86. That time is tied for the fifth-fastest in the Villanova record book and puts Prescod into sole possession of fourth place on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the 60 meters.
 
Villanova had three runners competing in the 200 meters and all three recorded personal best times in their races. Junior Nicholas Mollica (Jackson, N.J.) led the trio with a mark of 22.37 and was followed by the freshman pair of Ronan O'Neill (Wilmette, Ill.) and Luke Rakowitz (Dallas, Texas) who recorded times of 22.75 and 23.08, respectively.
 
Each of those three runners were also entered in the 400 meters. Mollica came in third out of 48 competitors in that race with a time of 49.32. Junior Jakob Kunzer (George Town, Grand Cayman) crossed the finish line in 49.46, freshman Sal Barretta (Whitestone, N.Y.) had a personal best time of 50.12 and O'Neill followed in 50.20. Rakowitz posted a time of 50.37 and junior William Seijas (Shrewsbury, N.J.) tallied a personal best mark of 51.56.
 
The two other running events on the schedule for the Wildcats were the 800 meters and the 3000 meters. Junior Chris Weeks (Virginia Beach, Va.) came in fifth in the 800 meters in 1:55.31 while graduate student Trevor Potts (Sparta, N.J.) crossed the line in 1:59.34.
 
Junior Cole Walker (Chadds Ford, Pa.) paced a field of 52 runners and led a 1-2-3 sweep for Villanova in the 3K. He sealed the win with a time of 8:15.19 and was followed by the duo of graduate students Ben Seiple (Westport, Conn.) and Will Merritt (Smithsburg, Md.) who posted times of 8:18.87 and 8:23.00, respectively.
 
Two throwers for the men's team were in action on Saturday at the Big Apple meet. Freshman Liam Anderson (Lebanon, N.J.) and sophomore Tristan Bolinsky (Gordon, Pa.) competed in the weight throw. Anderson threw for a mark of 12.72 meters and Bolinsky measured a distance of 15.24 meters.
 
Members of Villanova's men's distance medley relay squad are expected to head to Notre Dame next weekend for the Alex Wilson Invitational. Most of the team will be idle until competing at the BIG EAST Championships on February 24-25 in Chicago.