PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—The 130th running of the world's oldest and largest track & field meet gets underway Thursday when the 2026 Penn Relays, celebrating with America250, kicks off at Franklin Field. Action will stream live on Flotrack over the next three days as Villanova seeks to continue its unrivaled legacy at one of the most prestigious track events in history.
Thursday's schedule will be a busy one for the Wildcats starting with women's hammer at 12 p.m. and continuing all the way through the men's 10,000 meter championship race at 10:15 p.m. Below is a complete rundown of the day.
12:00 PM – Women's Hammer
- The freshman trio of Jess Bentum, Kiera Christensen and Jane Carey have all surged into the top 10 of the program's all-time performance list this season. They will each compete in the first flight in the college section of the hammer. Bentum owns the top mark of the season amongst the three with a distance of 49.12 meters.
5:00 PM – Men's Hammer
- Graduate student Tristan Bolinsky is the school record holder in the hammer with a mark of 58.56 meters recorded during the 2024 BIG EAST Championships. This is his fourth career Penn Relays for Villanova and first time competing in the hammer. He will compete in the discus for the fourth time in his Wildcats career tomorrow afternoon. Freshman thrower Theo Hedgemon competes in the first flight of the hammer and has surpassed 51 meters during his collegiate rookie campaign.
5:30 PM – Women's 400 Meter Hurdles
- Junior sprinter Olivia Allen ranks second in school history in the 400 meter hurdles. She has a lifetime PR of 58.01 and is the two-time defending BIG EAST champion in this event. Her top time this season is 58.43 and was recorded last week in Virginia.
6:10 PM – Women's 1500 Meters
- Villanova's 1500 meter squad ranks 10th in the country this season. One of the team's top four in the event is graduate student Nikki Vanasse who will compete in tonight's championship. She is coming off a season best time of 4:16.92 in Virginia last week. Freshman Sophia McInnes has a season best time of 4:25.34.
6:30 PM – Men's 1500 Meters
- Graduate student Devon Comber and sophomore Jack Fenlon run in the 1500 meters for the Villanova men. Comber is a sub-four-minute miler and has broken 3:40 in the 1500 meters during his career, while Fenlon owns a personal best of 3:44.47 which was recorded earlier this month at Princeton.
7:20 PM – Men's 3000 Meter Steeplechase
- One of the events to look forward to on Thursday evening is the men's steeplechase which Matt Bogdan will be competing in for the first time wearing a Villanova singlet. He is no stranger to the event however, having run 8:52.71 at the Penn Relays last year while competing for North Carolina State.
7:45 PM – Women's 5000 Meters
- Graduate student Margaret Carroll owns a PR of 16:01.51 recorded during the 2025-26 indoor season. She ranks ninth indoors in Villanova history in the event and will be running this race alongside freshman Zoe Mosher who had a PR of 16:35.08 at the Raleigh Relays last month.
8:35 PM – Men's 5000 Meters
- Sophomore distance runner Jack Coomber will run his second race of the outdoor season and his first collegiate 5K tonight. He has a lifetime PR of 14:10.37 recorded in Australia during his scholastic career.
10:15 PM – Men's 10000 Meters
- The final event of the night will be worth waiting for as CJ Sullivan makes his anticipated career debut in the 10K. He has run as fast as 13:41.28 in the 5000 meters earlier this season at Duke and is expected to be one of the contenders for tonight's championship. He will be running alongside junior classmate Nick Sullivan whose PR in the 10K is 29:07.13.
