PRINCETON, N.J.—Fifth year collegian Lizzie Martell (Essex Junction, Vt.) tallied a top 20 time in the East region this season with a lifetime best of 2:03.93 in the 800 meters on Friday night at the Larry Ellis Invitational. Villanova kicked off two days of competition at Weaver Stadium with PRs in the 800 meters, 1500 meters and 5000 meters on the track. In addition, senior thrower Alex Payne (Silverdale, Wash.) notched the ninth longest throw in school history in the hammer with a mark of 53.34 meters.
 
It was the distance runners for the Wildcats who took center stage during the evening portion of Friday's meet. Martell had a breakout performance with her time of 2:03.93 in the fast heat of the 800 meters. She was the second-fastest collegian out of 29 competitors in the elite section of the event and took over this year's BIG EAST lead in addition to posting the 19^th best time in the East region through the close of Friday's competitions around the country. Her time is the best for a Villanova runner since the 2023 indoor season.
 
Martell and junior Micah Trusty (Philadelphia, Pa.) each finished in the top five of the 800 meters. Trusty lowered her season best mark to 2:05.26 to finish fifth in the same heat that Martell ran in. The heat was won by Wildcats alumna McKenna Keegan of Nike who paced the field in 2:02.77.
 
Collegiate rookie Rosie Shay (Middletown, N.J.) and sophomore Tilly O'Connor (Spring Lake, N.J.) each recorded their second PRs of the season in the 1500 meters. Shay finished ninth out of more than 50 athletes in the elite section of the event in 4:18.54 and O'Connor broke 4:20 for the first time in her career with a time of 4:19.73. It was the second PR in the last nine days for O'Connor, who had previously run 4:20.05 at the Penn Relays last week.
 
Friday night's outings were noteworthy ones for the trio of Martell, Trusty and Shay who each ran legs on both the distance medley relay and the 4x800 meter relay for Villanova last week. Sixth year Maggie Smith (Halifax, N.S.) lowered her best time of the season in the 1500 meters nearly two seconds to 4:22.59 and senior Emily Robinson (Rogers, Ark.) registered a time of 4:35.14.
 
Senior distance runners Emma McGill (Lebanon, N.J.) and Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.) had their best races of the season in the 5000 meters. They finished second and third, respectively, in the seeded section of the event with times of 16:13.12 and 16:14.81. McGill moved into seventh place in the BIG EAST this season, while Carroll recorded her second PR of the year with a time of 16:14.81. Junior Amelia Arrieta (Kansas City, Mo.) had a time of 17:08.14 in her first race of the outdoor season. First year Bella Walsh (Wilmington, Del.) ran the steeplechase for the first time in her collegiate career and recorded a time of 11:16.19.
 
Payne had her best outing of the season in the hammer with her mark of 53.34 meters. It is the fourth time in her last five performances that she has increased her top mark of the year. Her latest effort is the ninth longest throw in the Wildcats record book and her second entry on the program's all-time top 10 list, trailing her Villanova best of 53.56 meters from last year. Fifth year thrower Teresa Rotolo (Warren, N.J.) posted a mark of 34.19 meters in the javelin.
 
Action at the Larry Ellis Invitational continues on Saturday morning.