RESULTS
NEW YORK – Villanova swept the men’s and women’s titles at the 2019 BIG EAST Outdoor Track & Field Championships presented by Jeep at New York City’s Icahn Stadium, marking the 10
th time in conference history one team took home both trophies. The Wildcats won both indoor titles as well to claim the complete 2019 sweep. The women ran away from the field by tallying 217 points, the most points earned by the conference winner since Villanova tallied 247 in 2015. The finish on the men’s side was far more dramatic, as VU held off second-place Marquette by just seven points. The Wildcat men totaled 198 to MU’s 191. The runner-up on the women’s side was DePaul at 159, marking the Blue Demons’ second straight silver medal finish. The Golden Eagles placed second on the men’s side for the third time as MU has finished in the top two for five consecutive years. The team titles were the 12
th for the VU women and eighth for the men.
Led by head coaches Gina Procaccio and Marcus O’Sullivan, Villanova was recognized as the BIG EAST Coaching Staffs of the Year on both the women’s and men’s sides. Jade Nolan of DePaul was voted Women’s Most Outstanding Field Performer, Leah Anderson of St. John’s was named Women’s Most Outstanding Track Performer, Marquette’s Samuel Johnson was selected Men’s Most Outstanding Field Performer and DePaul’s Brendan Van Voorhis was tabbed Men’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. The Women’s High Point Performers also went to Nolan and Anderson with 24 points, while the Men’s High Point Performers recognized Van Voorhis and Marquette’s Terrance Howard with 23 points.
Women’s Recap
The Wildcats carried their Day 1 momentum into the second day as Olivia Morgan picked up the first gold medal awarded of the afternoon. The freshman won the heptathlon with 4901 points to become just the second Villanova heptathlon champion in BIG EAST history and first since 2015. Three Wildcats scored in the event to improve their lead over the field by more than 50 points after seven events.
Villanova kept its foot on the gas in the day’s second event, winning the 4x100-meter relay for the first time since the BIG EAST’s inaugural outdoor women’s championships in 1983. Sanaa Barnes, Danielle Burns, Trinity Hart and Trudy-Ann Williamson clocked a 46.42 finish to add 10 more points to the board for the Wildcats. Barnes also claimed the high jump title, recording the best mark at the BIG EAST Championships since 2013 by eclipsing the bar at 1.81m.
In the 1,500-meter run, Josette Norris brought the gold medal back to Georgetown for the first time since 2016, edging Providence’s Millie Paladino by a second as Norris snapped the tape in 4:34.54 to Paladino’s 4:35.55. Norris was also part of the winning 4x800 relay as the Hoyas won gold with a finish of 8:49.43, marking their fourth win in the event in the last five years.
DePaul’s Alexia Brooks picked up her second straight 100-meter hurdles win, besting the field with a time 13.70. Danielle Burns and Sarah Jones finished 2-3 for Villanova to pick up 14 more points for the Wildcats. Allie Vogeler became Butler’s first competitor to three-peat, winning her third consecutive 400-meter hurdles title with a time of 58.98.
St. John’s earned gold and bronze in the 400-meter dash as Leah Anderson became the sixth consecutive Red Storm runner to win the event. Anderson took first place with a time of 53.10 – a personal best and the top time at the BIG EAST Championships since 2013. She also won the 200-meter dash crown as the lone sub-24-second finisher, crossing the line in 23.93, and was on the winning 4x400 relay (3:41.46) for the Red Storm’s third title in the event in the last five seasons.
Villanova’s Carolina Alcorta also earned multiple individual wins on the weekend, picking up the 5,000-meter run gold medal today with a time of 15:51.13 after winning yesterday’s 10k race. It marked the senior’s first 5k race since the 2019 BIG EAST Indoor Championships.
Trudy-Ann Williamson became Villanova’s first 100m champion since 2015, edging Marquette’s Breanne Marchan by .07 seconds with a time of 11.82. Jennifer Odoemene snagged the first discus title by a St. John’s competitor since 2002 by recording a throw of 44.41m. Teammate Amarys Berry became the Red Storm’s first shot put winner since 1989 with a monster throw of 14.96m, the best at the BIG EAST Championships since 2013.
Cathilyn McIntosh won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:06.95, a PR for the rookie and the second-fastest time in the conference this outdoor season. She becomes Georgetown’s first 800m champion since 2013.
DePaul’s Jade Nolan became the Blue Demons’ first ever triple jump champion with a leap of 12.38m. She won the long jump title yesterday afternoon as well.
In total, Villanova won eight events over the two days to lead the field, followed by St. John’s with five and DePaul with four. Georgetown earned a trio of first-place finishes, while Providence and Butler each won one event.
Men’s Recap
Tied after seven events at 76-76, Villanova and Marquette traded the lead throughout the sunny afternoon at Icahn Stadium. The Golden Eagles led as late as five events to go, holding a 149-145 advantage after the 200-meter finals. MU outscored Villanova, 32-22, in the final two field events (triple jump and discus), but the Wildcats pull away to their impressive track performances down the stretch. VU clinched 15 points in the 5,000-meter run thanks to a trio of scoring finishes, while its winning 4x800-meter relay squad all but clinched it for the Wildcats. Villanova also outplaced Marquette in the 4x400, third to sixth, to seal the deal.
MU’s Samuel Johnson won the triple jump with a PR leap of 15.50m, the top mark at the BIG EAST Championships since 2013 and the best in the conference this season by more than half a meter. Teammate Terrance Howard became Marquette’s first discus champion as the Golden Eagles finished 1-2 in the event. Howard recorded a throw of 50.04m, while Brendan McKinney followed at 49.51m. Joseph Keys became the Golden Eagles’ third decathlon champion as the sophomore totaled 7112 points, the most at the BIG EAST Championships since 2013.
Keegan Hughes claimed his second straight 400-meter hurdles title as the sophomore from Villanova recorded the fastest finish at the BIG EAST Championship since 2013 with his PR of 52.37. Teammate Casey Comber became the fourth Villanova 1,500m men’s champion in the last six years, edging out 2018 champion Johnny Leverenz of Butler by just .30 seconds with a winning time of 3:59.59. Fellow Wildcat Logan Wetzel also finished with a sub-4:00 time at 3:59.90 for bronze medal honors. Comber was also a member of the winning 4x800 relay team which finished in 7:26.69, for the Wildcats third win in the event in four seasons.
Marquette made some noise in the standings after tallying 18 points in the 110-meter hurdles, highlighted by Ben Konopka’s gold-medal finish of 14.61 seconds. DePaul finished 2-3 in the event as Kyle Decker’s quest for a four-peat came up just shy with his third-place, 14.84 finish. Kyle Hedge became the second Blue Demon to claim three shot put titles (Matt Babicz – 2012, ’14, ’15) with his gold medal toss of 16.20m.
DePaul stood out in the sprints, claiming its second straight men’s 4x100 meter title, marking their fourth win in the event overall. Brendan Van Voorhis, Antonio Pavloski, Isaac Walker and Adam Nelson recorded the top time in the BIG EAST this season at 41.03, which is also the best at the conference championships since 2013. Nelson also claimed the first 100-meter dash title for DePaul since 2015 with his top time of the season at 10.69, while Van Voorhis won the 200m (21.98) and was a member of the winning 4x400 (3:11.79).
In the 400m, DePaul earned the top-three finishes. Henry Larkin won the event with a time of 47.64, becoming the fourth Blue Demon in six years to win the 400m. The Hoyas claimed the 800m title for a sixth consecutive year as Kenneth Rowe snapped the tape in 1:50.54.
Butler brought home its second distance gold medal of the weekend as Euan Makepeace clinched the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:15.21. The Bulldogs claimed the 10k on Friday evening.
In total, DePaul and Villanova tied for the lead with six event wins apiece, followed by Marquette with five. Butler followed with three and Georgetown collected two.
Final standings
Women’s
1 Villanova - 217
2 DePaul - 159
3 St. John’s - 141
4 Marquette - 114
5 Georgetown - 76
6 Butler - 69
7 Providence - 38
8 Xavier - 37
Men’s
1 Villanova - 198
2 Marquette - 191
3 DePaul - 168
4 Butler - 127
5 Georgetown - 92
6 Providence - 28
7 Xavier - 21
Women’s Finals Results
100-Meter Dash: Trudy-Ann Williamson, Villanova – 11.82
200-Meter Dash: Leah Anderson, St. John’s – 23.93
400-Meter Dash: Leah Anderson, St. John’s – 53.10
800-Meter Run: Cathilyn McIntosh, Georgetown – 2:06.95
1,500-Meter Run: Josette Norris, Georgetown – 4:34.54
5,000-Meter Run: Caroline Alcorta, Villanova – 15:51.13
10,000-Meter Run: Caroline Alcorta, Villanova – 34:42.28
100-Meter Hurdles: Alexia Brooks, DePaul – 13.70*
400-Meter Hurdles: Allie Vogeler, Butler – 58.98*^
3,000-Meter Steeplechase: Brianna Ilarda, Providence – 9:56.36^#
4x100-Meter Relay: Villanova (Sanaa Barnes, Danielle Burns, Trinity Hart, Trudy-Ann Williamson) – 46.42
4x400-Meter Relay: St. John’s (Chenoa Sebastian, Leah Anderson, Kafi Ottley, Skyy Diop) – 3:41.46
4x800-Meter Relay: Georgetown (Josette Norris, Katie Dammer, Katherine Modrall, Sami Corman) – 8:49.43
Long Jump: Jade Nolan, DePaul – 5.90m
High Jump: Sanaa Barnes, Villanova – 1.81m
Triple Jump: Jade Nolan, DePaul – 12.38m
Pole Vault: Ashley Preston, Villanova – 4.02m
Javelin: Taryn Ashby, Villanova – 43.32m*
Hammer Throw: Rebecca Chouinard, DePaul – 56.05m
Discus: Jennifer Odoemene, St. John’s – 44.41m
Shot Put: Amarys Berry, St. John’s – 14.96m
Heptathlon: Olivia Morgan, Villanova – 4901
Men’s Finals Results
100-Meter Dash: Adam Nelson, DePaul – 10.69
200-Meter Dash: Brendan Van Voorhis, DePaul – 21.98
400-Meter Dash: Henry Larkin, DePaul – 47.64
800-Meter Run: Kenneth Rowe, Georgetown – 1:50.54
1,500-Meter Run: Casey Comber, Villanova – 3:59.59
5,000-Meter Run: Euan Makepeace, Butler – 14:15.21
10,000-Meter Run: Barry Keane, Butler – 30:33.95
110-Meter Hurdles: Ben Konopka, Marquette – 14.61
400-Meter Hurdles: Keegan Hughes, Villanova – 52.37*
3,000-Meter Steeplechase: Christian Liddell, Georgetown – 8:46.09
4x100-Meter Relay: DePaul (Brendan Van Voorhis, Antonio Pavloski, Isaac Walker, Adam Nelson) – 41.03
4x400-Meter Relay: DePaul (Isaac Walker, Brendan Van Voorhis, Kolani Cole, Henry Larkin) – 3:11.79
4x800-Meter Relay: Villanova (Jacob Bonanotte, Ville Lampinen, Logan Wetzel, Casey Comber) – 7:26.69
Shot Put: Kyle Hedge, DePaul – 16.20m*^
Discus: Terrance Howard, Marquette – 50.04m
Hammer Throw: Brendan McKinney, Marquette – 56.19m
Javelin: Jack Judge, Villanova – 62.62m*
Long Jump: Luke Russell, Butler – 7.29m
Triple Jump: Samuel Johnson, Marquette – 15.50m
High Jump: Jacob Kelly, Villanova – 2.11m
Pole Vault: Thomas Conboy, Villanova – 4.85m
Decathlon: Joseph Keys, Marquette – 7112
*2018 champion
^2017 champion
#2016 champion
Day 1 results