ALBANY, N.Y.—Three members of the Villanova multi-event group are competing in the heptathlon at the Bobbi Palma UAlbany Spring Classic this week.  Action got underway on Thursday afternoon and freshman Liv Morgan (Bronx, N.Y.) currently leads a field of 12 competitors with 2,959 points.   
 
Junior Sofia Calabrese (Edwards, Colo.) and senior Niki Cleary (Flemington, N.J.) currently stand in fifth place (2,616 points) and seventh place (2,416 points), respectively.  The first four events of the heptathlon were contested on Thursday, with competition set to continue at 12:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
 
Morgan recorded personal best marks in three of the four events on Thursday to jump out to the overall lead.  After ranking second in the field with a time of 15.04 in the 100 meter hurdles to open competition, she tied for fifth with a personal best height of 1.55 meters in the high jump.  From there, Morgan closed strong and led the 12 heptathletes with a shot put throw of 11.63 meters and a time of 25.88 in the 200 meters.  Each of those marks also set new personal bests. 
 
The day was a strong one for Calabrese, who recorded a personal best time of 16.26 in the 100 meter hurdles and a new best throw of 10.39 meters in the shot put.  She was second among the 12 competitors in the shot put, fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 27.14, tied for fifth in the high jump and sixth in the hurdles. 
 
Cleary had the second-fastest time in the field in the 200 meters with a mark of 26.23.  She opened the day with a time of 16.87 in the 100 meter hurdles, recorded a height of 1.40 meters in the high jump and threw the shot put for a distance of 9.79 meters.