PHILADELPHIA, Pa.—A pair of third place finishes in the sprint events highlighted competition for Villanova as 10 men's athletes competed in the Penn Challenge at Franklin Field on Saturday afternoon. The meet marked the beginning of the outdoor season for the Wildcats, who had entries in six different events on the day.
 
The junior duo of Jakob Kunzer (George  Town, Grand Cayman) and Nicholas Mollica (Jackson, N.J.) came in third in the 400 meters and the 400 meter hurdles, respectively. Kunzer led four Villanova runners in the 400 meters with a time of 49.32 and he finished six-tenths of a second in front of freshman Ronan O'Neill (Wilmette, Ill.) who came in sixth in 49.92. Freshman Luke Rakowitz (Dallas, Texas) and junior William Seijas (Shrewsbury, N.J.) recorded times of 50.54 and 51.82, respectively, in the 400 meters. Mollica posted a time of 54.20 in the hurdles and came in ahead of junior Mac Costonis (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) who finished fifth in 55.38.
 
The rest of Saturday's docket for the Wildcats consisted of four field events. Freshmen Daelyn Nwaobasi (Nashville, Tenn.) and Sanjay Persaud (Bloomingburg, N.Y.) were in action in the long jump and they tallied marks of 6.49 meters and 5.70 meters, respectively. Nwaobasi finished sixth out of 13 competitors with a personal best distance and Persaud came in 12^th while making his collegiate debut at the meet.
 
Freshman thrower Liam Anderson (Lebanon, N.J.) and sophomore Tristan Bolinsky (Gordon, Pa.) rounded out Villanova's results for the day. Anderson threw for 12.98 meters in the shot put and 34.78 meters in the discus, while Bolinsky had marks of 46.83 meters in the discus and 52.22 meters in the hammer.
 
A contingent of Wildcats is set to compete during the coming week at the Raleigh Relays.