DURHAM, N.C.—Fifth year distance runner Lydia Olivere (Wilmington, Del.) ran the second-fastest 3000 meter steeplechase in school history – trailing only her own school record – to highlight a strong day of competition for Villanova as the Duke Invitational kicked off at Morris Williams Stadium on Friday night. Olivere won the steeplechase in 9:56.57 to record the sixth-fastest time in the nation this season. Friday's event schedule for the Wildcats included entries in the invitational section of the 800 meters along with the steeplechase and the 5000 meters.
 
Olivere led for the duration of her first steeplechase race this season and notched the second-fastest time of her career at 9:56.57. Her performance puts her into the BIG EAST lead this season and ranks third on the East region descending order list pending the outcome of other meets around the country this weekend. Villanova senior Anna Helwigh (Soborg, Denmark) finished third in Friday's race at Duke with a mark of 10:05.26, the good for sixth in the East region and second in the BIG EAST behind Olivere. Helwigh's time is the third-fastest of her career.
 
The duo of Olivere and Helwigh has rewritten the Wildcats record book in the steeplechase over the last several seasons. They now combine to hold the 12 fastest times in the Villanova record book, with Olivere accounting for eight of those marks and Helwigh adding another four times to the Wildcats list of top performances. The pair represent the only two athletes in school history to ever break 10 minutes in the steeplechase.
 
Villanova began the evening on Friday with the invitational sections of the 800 meters. Senior sprinter Madison Martinez (Gahanna, Ohio) ran in the faster of two heats and came in fourth with a time of 2:05.75. Freshman sprinter Micah Trusty (Philadelphia, Pa.) won the first heat in 2:07.92 and sophomore Maya Dorer (New York, N.Y.) finished third in that section with a time of 2:08.93. All three runners currently rank in the top nine of the BIG EAST performance list early in the outdoor campaign, with Martinez currently second followed by Trusty in fifth and Dorer ninth.
 
The final event of the night was the 5000 meters where the Wildcats got a great race from fifth year Ariana Gardizy (Lansdale, Pa.) in the fastest of three sections. Gardizy came in sixth in her heat with a time of 16:32.29, the second-fastest time of her career and the seventh-fastest in the BIG EAST this season. The race was the second in as many weeks for Gardizy, who opened her outdoor season last week by posting a personal best time of 4:29.32 in the 1500 meters at the Big 5 Invitational.
 
Villanova wraps up the weekend on Saturday when competition continues in both the Duke Invitational and the Hurricane Alumni Invitational in Miami where a contingent of Wildcats will be in action.