PHILADEPHIA, Pa.—Villanova opened the 2025 outdoor track & field season at the Penn Challenge on Saturday afternoon and was led by a group of throwers who all recorded personal best marks in their respective events. It was a successful day overall for the Wildcats, who had 11 athletes in competition at the local meet as the team builds for the bulk of the outdoor season to come.
 
Junior thrower Liam Anderson (Lebanon, N.J.) recorded collegiate PRs in the shot put and the hammer, with his throw of 14.51 meters in the shot put pacing a trio of Villanova athletes. He was followed by freshman Chris Coulter (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Jonathan Evans (Springfield, Va.) who registered throws of 14.47 meters and 12.82 meters, respectively. It was the first time in their collegiate careers that both Anderson and Coulter surpassed 14 meters either indoors or outdoors.
 
Evans completed a trifecta of PRs on the day with marks of 38.35 meters in the discus and 38.00 meters in the hammer. Freshman Joe D'Adamo (Nanuet, N.Y.), a relatively rare collegiate newcomer who threw the hammer in high school, moved up to the 16 pound collegiate implement and threw 46.94 meters. Anderson measured a personal best of 38.92 meters in the event.
 
Two sprints and one middle distance race made up the rest of the Wildcats docket for the day. Junior sprinter Ronan O'Neill (Wilmette, Ill.) tallied a PR of 55.37 in the 400 meter hurdles and finished fifth in the race, followed by junior teammate Sal Barretta (Whitestone, N.Y.) in sixth with a time of 57.05.
 
Villanova had three consecutive finishers from fourth through sixth places in the 400 meters, led by sophomore Matthew Griffin (Whippany, N.J.) with a time of 50.25. He was followed by junior Jimmy Milgie (Wildwood, Mo.) and freshman Hayden Souza (Indianapolis, Ind.) who had times of 50.99 and 51.18, respectively.
 
Redshirt freshman Kai Mitchell-Reiss (Portland, Ore.) posted a time of 3:52.80 in the 1500 meters and redshirt freshman Brian Theobald (Wall, N.J.) recorded a PR of 3:57.50.
 
Villanova will next compete in the Raleigh Relays this week.