STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.—A group of seven field athletes competed for Villanova at the Gotham Cup on Friday afternoon.  The meet was the first of three trips that the Wildcats will make to the Ocean Breeze Track & Field Athletic Complex this season, and the day's action included the pole vault, long jump and triple jump in addition to the shot put and the weight throw. 
 
Freshman pole vaulter Ashley Preston (Franklinville, N.J.) and senior Adeline Scelzi (Glen Allen, Va.) each cleared a height of 3.65 meters in the pole vault.  They each made it over the bar at that height on their first try, with Preston finishing as the runner-up in a group of 12 competitors as a result of having fewer misses than Preston at the previous height of 3.50 meters.  Both athletes had previously been successful at their opening heights of 3.35 meters. 
 
The height of 3.65 meters tied an indoor personal best for Scelzi, who had previously achieved that mark at the Columbia Challenge last season.  Her lifetime best of 3.71 meters was set at the 2017 outdoor BIG EAST Championships.  Sophomores Amanda McNelis (Commack, N.Y.) and Cala Lejman (Ambler, Pa.) cleared heights of 3.50 meters and 3.20 meters, respectively.  McNelis tied for a fifth place finish and Lejman tied for 11^th.
 
Senior Alex Patrick (Media, Pa.) and junior Gloria Donou (East Brunswick, N.J.) each competed in both the long jump and the triple jump.  Patrick came in 12^th out of 48 entries in the long jump with a mark of 5.08 meters and also finished 14^th in the triple jump with a measurement of 10.69 meters.  Donou placed 13^th in the triple jump at 10.98 meters and was 13^th in the long jump with a distance of 5.04 meters. 
 
Freshman thrower Emily Galvin (Pitman, N.J.) surpassed the distances she had recorded at last week's season opener in both the shot put and the weight throw.  She was measured at 10.42 meters in the weight throw and came in 21^st out of 56 competitors in the shot put with a mark of 10.33 meters.
 
Villanova will next compete in the Columbia Challenge at New York Armory this coming Friday and Saturday.