RALEIGH, N.C.—Junior distance runner Sadie Sigfstead (Edmonton, Alta.) ran the fastest 10000 meter race by a Villanovan in 32 years with a personal best time of 32:45.56 at the Raleigh Relays on Friday night. Sigfstead's performance was one for the record books as she tallied the second-fastest time in the Wildcats record book and the program's best 10K race since Carole Zajac set the school record in April 1992. Villanova kicked off two days of competition at Paul H. Derr Track on the North Carolina State campus with competition in the 1500 meters, the 5000 meters and the 10000 meters.
 
Sigfstead shattered her previous PR by more than a full minute in Friday night's race. She had posted a time of 33:53.16 in this same meet a year ago to surge into sixth place on the Wildcats all-time performance list in the 10K. She is now second on that list and owns the number-two overall time in Villanova history behind Zajac's record of 32:22.96 which has stood since April 23, 1992 at the Penn Relays. Zajac, Sigfstead and Caroline Alcorta are the only Wildcats to break 33 minutes during their collegiate careers.
 
Putting superlatives aside, the significance of meets like the Raleigh Relays early in the outdoor schedule is how they set up the remainder of the competition season. Sigfstead earned her qualifying spot for the NCAA East Preliminary in the 10000 meters with her race in Raleigh last season and put herself in excellent position to do so again this season with her performance on Friday night.
 
Sigfstead came in 24^th in the national semifinal round of the 10K last season and is coming off a 2024 indoor campaign in which she was the BIG EAST champion in the 5000 meters and ran the sixth-fastest 5K time in school history during the year.
 
Junior distance runner Emma McGill (Lebanon, N.J.) recorded a personal best time of 16:14.15 in the 5000 meters earlier on Friday evening. She shaved just over 1.5 seconds over her previous top time which also came at the Raleigh Relays last season. McGill ran in the second-fastest section of the 5K on Friday and finished 10^th in her heat. Junior Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.) registered a time of 17:54.12.
 
Earlier in the afternoon junior middle distance runner Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.) had a terrific race in the 1500 meters. Robinson posted a personal best time of 4:26.89 to lower her PR by nearly five full seconds from the previous mark of 4:31.84 she recorded at the BIG EAST Championships in her collegiate debut season in 2022. Freshman Tilly O'Connor (Spring Lake, N.J.) was also in action on Friday and posted a time of 4:34.45 in the 1500 meters.
 
One event remains in Raleigh for Villanova and it comes up on Saturday afternoon when members of the team will compete in the 800 meters.