STORRS, Conn.—Fifth year distance runner Liam Murphy (Millstone, N.J.) won his record-tying 12^th conference gold medal and Villanova had four podium finishes on the final day of the 2025 BIG EAST Track and Field Championships presented by JEEP on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats scored in 16 of the 17 events they entered on the weekend and finished fourth in the team standings with 95 points.
 
In addition to Murphy defending his BIG EAST title in the 1500 meters, sophomore Dan Watcke (Hinsdale, Ill.) and junior Sal Barretta (Whitestone, N.Y.) each made the awards podium by tallying personal bests in their respective events. Watcke finished third in the 800 meters with an outdoor PR of 1:46.63 to earn a bronze medal, while Barretta garnered his first of two All-BIG EAST honors on the day in the 400 meter hurdles. He lowered his PR set earlier this year by nearly three-quarters of a second to finish third in 53.85.
 
The final event of the weekend was the 4×400 meter relay and Villanova finished third to medal in the relay for the third straight year. Barretta led off for a Wildcats lineup which included sophomore Ethan Walls (Ridgefield, Conn.) running second followed by freshman Liam Gluck (Beavercreek, Ohio) and junior Luke Rakowitz (Dallas, Texas) on the final two legs. The group posted Villanova’s fastest 4×400 time in 14 years with a mark of 3:09.25. Gluck and Rakowitz tallied splits of 47.40 and 47.72, respectively, in the second half of the race.
 
In the individual events earlier in the afternoon, Barretta and junior Ronan O’Neill (Wilmette, Ill.) combined for a 3-4 finish in the hurdles. Barretta’s time of 53.85 lowered the identical personal best times that both he and O’Neill had recorded in the same race at Princeton just two weeks earlier. For his part, O’Neill nearly bested the effort as well with a time of 54.63 in Saturday’s final. It is the sixth time in the last seven outdoor BIG EAST meets that the Wildcats have had two or more scorers in the 400 meter hurdles, but the first time since 2015 that Villanova had two of the top four finishers in the event.
 
The field of competitors for the 800 meters this week was a particularly strong one and Watcke was one of four runners who beat the previous facility record in Saturday’s final. He was already in strong position to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary in the 800 meters for the second straight year, but his time of 1:46.63 boosted Watcke into a top 10 time on the East Region descending order list. The only faster times of his career were marks of 1:46.32 and 1:46.46 during the indoor season earlier this year, with the latter of those times also coming in a BIG EAST final. Freshman Ben Thomas (Sydney, Australia) scored two points in the 800 meters with a seventh place finish in 1:50.25.
 
Sophomore sprinter Parker Turner (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored in the final of both the 100 meters and the 200 meters after he had matched or set new personal bests in each event in Friday’s preliminaries. Turner was fifth in the 100 meters in 10.65 and came in sixth in the 200 meters with a time of 21.51. It is the first time in his career he advanced to the final of two individual events at the BIG EAST Championships after nearly doing so indoors in the 60 meters and 200 meters. He earned All-BIG EAST honors indoors with a third place finish in the 200 meters and had the fastest time that did not make the final in the 60 meter dash.
 
Villanova posted a time below 3:10 in the 4×400 meter relay for the first time since May 8, 2011 when a lineup of Nicoy Hines, Carlton Bowers, Christopher Kearney and Samuel Ellison finished second at the BIG EAST Championships in 3:09.89. Saturday’s crew of Barretta, Walls, Gluck and Rakowitz had the fastest time by a Wildcats 4×400 squad since Elvis Lewis, John Wilsman, Carl Hansen and Drew Eckman ran 3:08.80 on May 27, 2006 at the NCAA East Regional meet.
 
A lineup of redshirt freshman Kai Mitchell-Reiss (Portland, Ore.), Murphy, redshirt freshman CJ Sullivan (Milton, Mass.) and senior Devon Comber (Ambler, Pa.) finished fourth in the 4×800 meter relay in 7:28.82. Murphy had the team’s fastest split at 1:50.36 on the second leg of the race while Comber anchored the relay in 1:52.15 on the final leg. Sullivan split 1:50.72 on the third leg and came home in 55.74 on his second lap, one day after he closed in 57.08 in the final lap of the 5000 meters to earn an individual silver medal.
 
Villanova had a successful day in the field events on Saturday, highlighted by a sixth place finish in the discus from fifth year collegian Temi Ajirotutu (Queens, N.Y.) in his second career BIG EAST meet. Ajirotutu, who has been a four-year offensive lineman on the Wildcats football team, took up throwing as a hobby last year and made his collegiate debut at the 2024 BIG EAST Championships when he competed in both the shot put and the discus. He extended his marks in those events in each of two outings this Spring.
 
It was Saturday’s performance in the discus that stood out. Ajirotutu threw 42.67 meters to lead three Wildcats with a sixth place finish out of 14 competitors. He had previously thrown 37.09 meters at the Larry Ellis Invitational two weeks ago, but he easily topped that mark on each of his first four throws Saturday. Ajirotutu began the day with a mark of 40.12 meters in the first round of attempts and increased the distance to his best mark of the day (42.67m) on his second throw. He was in fifth place at that point in the competition and never fell further than sixth the rest of the way.
 
Sixth year collegian Kelechi Eziri (Charlotte, N.C.) came in sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.08 meters and redshirt freshman thrower Aiden Shay (Selinsgrove, Pa.) placed seventh in the javelin with a personal best mark of 47.56 meters to round out the Villanova scorers for the day.
 
Selections for the NCAA East Preliminary meet in Jacksonville, Fla. will be announced this Thursday. The competition will take place the following week from May 28-31 at Hodges Stadium on the University of North Florida campus.

 

Nina Fife

Nina Fife is a sophomore at Pepperdine University double majoring in Journalism and English with a writing and rhetoric emphasis. She began working with The562 in the inaugural intern class before being hired as their Social Media Director and now Assistant Editor. Nina is a proud Long Beach schools alum who graduated with valedictorian honors.

Women’s football

The final touch of the quadruple treble!

After beating Racing Power, by 4-1, in the Portuguese Cup final, in a game held this Sunday, May 19, at the Estádio Nacional, Benfica won the Portuguese Cup for the second time in its history and won all the domestic competitions in the 2023/24 season, becoming the first club to achieve this feat. See the best images from a historic day!

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Arizona Track and Field earned 21 medals on the final day and 31 total during the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
 
The Wildcats men’s team finished 8th with 48 points, and the women’s team finished 8th with 46 points. Arizona earned 21 medals during the final day of action and 31 total during the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. See full team standings below.
 
Wildcats that earned podium finishes also earned Big 12 All-Conference honors.  
 
Ava Simms, McKenna Watson, Dakota Minor, and Jade Brown finished fifth in the women’s 4x100m relay with a program-record time of 44.13 to earn valuable points for the program. The 4x100m relay team shattered its record, 44.17 set on May 3 in Tucson.
 
Senior thrower Youssef Koudssi finished 2nd in the men’s discus with a throw of 59.08 (193-10) to post his best finish at a conference championship. After not competing during the 2024 Outdoor season, Koudssi was impressive, qualifying for the Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
 
Senior Zach Landa (4th; 57.94/190-1) and Sam Hala’ufia (5th; 57.32/188-1) joined Koudssi on the Discus podium with top-five finishes. Landa (5 points) and Hala’ufia (4 points) earned nine points combined.
 
Senior Zach Extine finished sixth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 13.64, earning three points for the men’s team.
 
Sophomore Ava Simms finished seventh in the 400m with a time of 53.52, earning two points for the women’s team.
 
Junior Tapenisa Havea finished 7th in the discus with a throw of 53.78 (176-5) to grab two points, and Senior Mackenna Orie earned her third podium of the weekend with a finish in 8th (53.55/175-8) for one point.
 
In the final race of the evening, after about an hour delay due to weather, the women’s 4×400 team featuring Ava Simms, Camila Aguilar-Perez, and Antonia Sanchez Nunez finished 3rd with a season-best time of 3:33.88.
 
Big 12 Scorers – Entire Event
Day 3
Youssef Koudssi – 2nd in Discus (59.09/193-10)
Ava Simms, Keilee Hall, Camila Aguilar-Perez, Antonia Sanchez Nunez – 3rd (3:33.88) 4×400 Relay
Antonia Sanchez Nunez – 4th in 400m Hurdles (56.23)
Zach Landa – 4th in Discus (57.94/190-1)
Sam Hala’ufia – 5th in Discus (57.32/188-1)
Ava Simms, McKenna Watson, Dakota Minor, Jade Brown – 5th (44.13) in 4x100m Relay
Zach Extine – 6th in 110m Hurdles (13.64)
Brian Limage – 6th in 100m (10.33)
Tyson Tippett – 7th in 100m (10.35)
Ava Simms – 7th in 400m (53.52)
Tapenisa Havea – 7th in Discus (53.78/176-5)
McKenna Watson – 7th in 100m (11.41)
Jade Brown – 7th in 200m (23.34)
James Onanubosi – 8th in 100m (10.43)
Mackenna Orie – 8th in Discus (53.55/175-8)
 
Day 2
Reinaldo Rodrigues – 1st in Long Jump (7.64m/25-0)
Zach Landa – 3rd in the Shot Put (19.88/65-2)
Mackenna Orie – 4th in Shot Put (16.20/53-1)
Jenica Bosko – 5th in Long Jump (6.36/21-0)
Tapenisa Havea – 6th in Shot Put (16.06/ 52-8)
 
Day 1
Erin Tack – 2nd in women’s javelin with a program record (54.37m/178-4)
Jesse Avina – 4th in men’s javelin (66.92/219-7)
Zach Landa – 8th in men’s hammer throw (61.27m/201-0)?
Mackenna Orie – 8th in women’s hammer throw (56.69/186-0)
Aislin Martinez-Pompa – 8th in women’s javelin (45.92m/150-8) 
 
Day 3
Other Finishes: Men
Yan Vazquez – 9th in 400m Hurdles (51.98)
Sylvan Osman – 10th in pole vault (personal best: 5.06/16-7)
Richard Legarra – 21st in Discus Throw (personal best: 50.60/166-0)
Isaac Davis,  Christian Simmons, Yan Vazquez, Brian Limage – 9th in 4x400m relay (season-best 3:10.86)
 
Other Finishes: Women
McKenna Watson – 9th in 200m (23.40)
Kelly Lyn Wetteland – 14th in 5000m (16:21.42)
 

Big 12 Final Team Standings
Men
Place	Team	Total Points
1	Texas Tech	136
2	BYU	100.66
3	Houston	96
4	Kansas	73
5	Iowa State	72
6	TCU	64
7	Okla. State	50
8	Arizona	48
9	Baylor	47
10	ASU	40
11	Kansas St.	39
12	Cincinnati	34.33
13	Colorado	18
Women
Place	Team	Total Points
1	Texas Tech	127
2	BYU	112.5
3	TCU	86
4	Baylor	84.5
5	Kansas	55.83
6	Okl. State	52.5
7	Cincinnati	48
8	Arizona	46
9	UCF	41
10	Kansas State	38.33
11	Utah	33
12	Iowa State	30
13	West Vriginia	28.5
14	Houston	16.33
15	ASU	11
16	Colorado	8.5

 
UP NEXT
The Wildcats will compete in the NCAA First Round on May 28-31 at College Station, Texas.
 
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NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans men’s and women’s track and field teams closed the 2025 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships in style, backed by 10 top-10 finishes, including two podium finishes Saturday at the Wendel D. Ley Track & Holloway Field in Houston. 

The Privateer women finished 11th, capturing 23 points over the three days, while the men earned 13 of their 19 total points on Saturday alone. 

New Orleans’ Helen Baumgarten earned the highest finish of any individual athlete, earning silver in the women’s 100m hurdles in a personal-best 13.80 seconds, while the men’s 4x100m relay team of Chris Murphy, Madonna Favour, Daryl Bachmann and Darryl George Jr. earned bronze in the first running event of the finals with a time of 39.77 seconds. 

Freshman Annika Metzger claimed eight points thanks to a 4th-place finish in the women’s 800m and a 6th-place finish in the 1500m event. Favour hauled in three points with a 7th-place finish in the men’s 200m and 8th-place finish in the men’s 100m. 

Emma Bourg and Metzger combined to score seven team points in the women’s 1500m, as Bourg finished 5th in 4:31.54 and Metzger in 6th in 4:33.48. Metzger then took part in the 800m competition and crossed the line in 2:13.41 to add another five points in 4th. 

Favour completed the men’s 100m event in 10.87 seconds to claim 8th, flipping then to the 200m where he captured 7th place in 21.22 seconds. Taj Morris earned a pair of points finishing 7th in the men’s 110m hurdles with a time of 14.33 seconds. 

In the 4x400m relay, the Privateer men ran the 7th-fastest time in school history with a mark of 3:12.55 to place 7th, while the women finished 2nd in their heat and 9th overall with a time of 3:53.92. 

Christina Davis finished 16th in the women’s discus, landing a throw of 39.63m.

Bourg set a new personal record in the women’s 5000m event with a time of 18:10.79 in 17th, followed by Michela Papalia in 25th in 18:54.62, Petra Imre 30th in 19:26.90 and Michelle Folk in 36th in 20:00.12.

Josh Johnston finished 19th in the men’s 5000m 15:17.33, while Mason Appleton finished in 15:45.03 in 31st. Antonio Delgado set a new personal record by nearly 16 seconds in 33rd in 16:11.60 and Gary Sandrock was 35th with a time of 16:27.84. 

NEXT UP

The Privateers head to the NCAA East Regionals May 28-31 at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.

 

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Springfield, Mass. – May 18, 2025 – Two student-athletes from the Springfield College men’s and women’s track and field programs have earned the opportunity to compete against the nation’s best as they have qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which will be held on May 22-24 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Senior Samantha Paul (Albany, N.Y.) qualified in the triple jump and is seeded 13th with a mark of 12.06-meters (39 feet, 7 inches), which she posted at the 2025 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships on April 25. Earlier this year, Paul earned Honorable Mention All-America honors when she took 13th in the triple jump at the Indoor National Championships.

Sophomore Mike Anderson (Cromwell, Conn.) will make his debut on the national stage this week as he qualified in the 110-meter hurdles with a school record time of 14.23-seconds, which he set at the AARTFC Outdoor Championships on May 14.

Anderson will compete in the 110-meter hurdles prelims on Friday, May 23 at 2:10 pm with finals slated for Saturday, May 24 at 1:50 pm, while Paul will compete in the triple jump on Saturday, May 24 at 1:45 pm.

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