PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—Junior sprinter Olivia Allen (Kingwood, Texas) and graduate student Lizzie Martell (Essex Junction, Vt.) tallied two of the three fastest times in school history in the 500 meters, sophomore Bella Walsh (Wilmington, Del.) ran the fourth-fastest 1000 meters in the Villanova record book and a trio of distance runners combined for a 1-2-3 sweep in the mile on an exciting day all around for the Wildcats at the Quaker Invitational on Saturday afternoon.
 
Allen posted a time of 1:11.02 in the 500 meters to threaten the school record of 1:10.81 which has been held by Michelle Bennett for nearly 35 years. She now owns the leading time in the NCAA this season and the fifth-fastest time in the world in 2026. Martell finished just behind Allen in Saturday's race with a time of 1:11.19 – third in the Villanova record book and sixth in the world in the new calendar year.
 
Prior to Saturday's results, Bennett held the four fastest times in school history in the 500 meters. Her record of 1:10.99 was set on February 17, 1991, at the BIG EAST Championships in Syracuse, N.Y.; her previous second-fastest time which Allen and Martell bested is 1:11.28 and was itself a school record when Bennett recorded the time on February 18, 1990, also in a BIG EAST meet at the Syracuse Carrier Dome.
 
For the second time in her career, Allen passed her mother – Wildcats great Debbie Grant – on the school's all-time performance list in one of the sprint events. Grant ran 1:11.94 in the 500 meters at the Florida Invitational in 1986, a mark which still ranks as the seventh-fastest time in the Villanova record book after Saturday's results. Allen passed Grant on the Wildcats list in the 400 meter hurdles at last year's outdoor BIG EAST Championships.
 
The fast heat of the 500 meters was a fun one and included Allen and Martell running side-by-side with Villanova alumna McKenna Keegan along with two other accomplished professional runners in Nia Akins and Ajee' Wilson. Akins won the race in 1:09.39, followed by Wilson (1:10.13) and Keegan (1:10.53) ahead of the Wildcats duo.
 
Later in the afternoon, Walsh took her own star turn in the 1000 meters. She set a meet record with her time of 2:43.28 and combined with graduate student Nikki Vanasse (Martinsville, N.J.) for a 1-2 finish in the race. Walsh trimmed more than seven full seconds off her previous PR from this same meet last season and occupies the fourth spot on the Wildcats all-time list in the 1000 meters. The school record of 2:40.82 held by Angel Piccirillo was set on February 27, 2016, and was the NCAA record at the time.
 
Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio is second in the 1000 meters at 2:42.68 and was the school record holder for nearly 30 years before Piccirillo – who attended Saturday's meet – passed her. Piccirillo also has the Wildcats third-fastest time of 2:43.04, while Walsh passed former NCAA mile champion Emily Lipari who was previously fourth in the record book in 2:43.69.
 
The first event on the track during Saturday's meet was the mile in which the trio of junior Tilly O'Connor (Spring Lake, N.J.), sophomore Rosie Shay (Middletown, N.J.) and graduate student Margaret Carroll (Mount Wolf, Pa.) left a lasting impression. All three posted times below 4:40 for the first time in their careers and did so in their first races since early December just after the end of the cross country season. O'Connor posted a winning time of 4:37.64, followed by Shay in second place (4:38.78) and Carroll in third (4:39.78).
 
Among the other highlights from Saturday's action was a first place finish for junior Malaika Cunningham (St. Andrew, Jamaica) in the high jump (1.73m) and a runner-up result for first year middle distance runner Sophia McInnes (Bayport, N.Y.) in the 800 meters (2:10.01).