Track and Field Prepares to Compete at Villanova Invitational

Saturday, February 1

Staten Island, N.Y.

4:00 PM

Temple University

Villanova Invitational

Track and Field Prepares to Compete at Villanova Invitational

1.31.20 | Women's Track and Field

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple track and field team will be back in action this Saturday, Feb. 1 to continue its 2020 indoor slate at the Villanova Invitational. The Owls will look to build off of their momentum from last weekend starting at 4 p.m. on the banked track at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex, located on Staten Island, N.Y.

About the Villanova Invitational
> The rolling schedule at the Villanova Invitational will begin at 4 p.m. and will start with Candus Burks, Zowie Dahn and Blair Knuckle in the long jump. The triple jump is set to follow immediately after, where Burks will return to the runway and will be joined by Tannekee Strachan. Later in the jumps, Knuckle will return alongside Aisha Brown to represent Temple in the high jump.
> Sydney Williams and Knuckle will get the action started on the track for the Owls in the 60m hurdle prelims. Following, Dahn, Strachan, Williams and Chelby Elam will be featured in the 60m dash prelims. Following finals for these events, Deyona Banks, Sophia Gulotti, Brown and Williams will compete in the 400m dash for the Cherry and White.
> To conclude action in the sprints for the day, Dahn, Brielle Lewis, Mallorie Smith and Marissa White will race the 200m dash. Lexi Walsh will be the lone Owl to compete in the distance events, wrapping up individual competition with the 3000m. To conclude the weekend, four Owls will band together to compete in the 4x400m relay.

Last Time Out
> Last weekend, the Owls traveled to the N.Y. Armory in the Bronx, N.Y. to compete in the two-day Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. Friday's portion of the meet was highlighted by an outstanding team performance in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Helene Gottlieb, White, Alanna Lally and Millie Howard finished the 4000m relay in 11:23.27, just barely missing the program record of 11:23.07 by two tenths of a second. Gottlieb ran the 1200m in 3:29.00 as the relay's first leg and handed off to White, who ran a speedy 400m in 55.92. The sophomore gave the baton to Lally, who ran the 800m in 2:08.23 and handed off to Howard, who anchored with a 4:50.13 mile.
> Redshirt-junior Grace Moore had a superb showing in the 3000m on Saturday, clocking in at 9:32.47 to earn 10th overall. Michelle Joyce also ran well in the 3K, finishing in 9:56.14 to break into the event's top-25. Later in the mile, Gottlieb returned to the track to run the second-fastest time for the Owls this season. The junior finished the race in 4:51.19, placing third overall in the 33-person field. Mikaela Vlasic had a solid performance in the 1600m as well, placing 13th overall with a time of 4:59.06.
> The mid-distance duo of Howard and Lally returned to represent the Cherry and White in the 800m. Howard just barely edged out her teammate, earning sixth with a time of 2:08.41. Lally finished just .03 later, clocking in at 2:08.44 to nab seventh overall.
> White hit the track to run her first individual race of 2020. The sophomore blazed through the 400m in 56.17 to earn 11th in the 46-person field. To wrap up the weekend, Brown had a stellar showing in the high jump to highlight Temple's performances in the field. The junior took silver in the event with a mark of 1.75m, missing first by just two attempts.

AAC Top-10
> Nine different Owls currently appear on the American Athletic Conference's top-10 lists for their respective events, spanning across 13 events. In the sprints, White's performance of 55.76 in the 400m at the Fastrack Season Opener currently sits as the second fastest in the conference.
> Three Owls appear in the American's top-10 in the 800m, with Howard leading the conference with a time of 2:08.41. Lally's performance of 2:08.44 at the Dr. Sander Columba Challenge is good for second, and Gottlieb's 2:14.45 at the Penn 8-Team Select currently sits sixth.
> The mile is one of Temple's strongest events, with four student-athletes sitting in the top-10. Howard's performance of 4:51.01 at the Penn 8-Team Select sits second and Gottlieb's 4:51.19 at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge puts her just behind her teammate at third. Moore clocked in at 4:53.01 at the Penn 8-Team Select to rank fifth in the AAC and Vlasic's time of 4:59.06 is seventh.
> The Cherry and White puts three in the top-10 for the 3000m, with Moore sitting second at 9:32.47, Howard ranking fifth at 9:51.00 and Joyce placing eighth at 9:56.14.
> In the jumps, Brown's mark of 1.75m in the high jump at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge is the second best mark in the American so far this season. In the triple jump, Burk currently sits 10th overall with her mark of 11.52 from the Penn 8-Team Select.