PRINCETON, N.J.—Senior sprinter Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) led a quintet of 800 meter runners with a time of 2:05.59 at the Larry Ellis Invitational which kicked off two days of competition at Weaver Stadium on Friday evening. Freshman Micah Trusty (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Alex Stasichin (Massapequa, N.Y.) each recorded personal best times in the 800 meters and freshman Kinsey Pogue (Danville, Calif.) ran her first collegiate steeplechase race.
 
The first event of Friday night's distance carnival was the 800 meters and Villanova got its weekend off to a strong start with its contingent of middle distance runners. Martinez came in fourth in the fastest heat of the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.59 and was followed across the finish line by Trusty who lowered her lifetime PR to 2:05.84. Her previous top time had been 2:06.71 during her scholastic career. She led the field through the first lap around the track and went out in 59.88 for the first 400 meters.
 
Next up for the Wildcats was sophomore Maya Dorer (New York, N.Y.) in the second heat and she posted a season best time of 2:06.95. It is the third-fastest career time in the 800 meters for Dorer, whose only faster races came at last year's outdoor BIG EAST Championships. Stasichin ran in the third heat on Friday and placed third in the heat with a PR of 2:08.78. She paced the field in the first lap with a split of 1:02.46 in the first 400 meters and went on to beat her previous personal best time of 2:09.61 which she recorded earlier this year at the indoor BIG EAST Championships.
 
Sophomore Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.) closed out the 800 meters for Villanova with a time of 2:14.74 in the fifth year. Later in the evening Pogue was in action in the 3000 meter steeplechase and posted a time of 11:44.98 in her first career race in the event.
 
Action continues at the Larry Ellis Invitational on Saturday afternoon.