A Good Meet for Penn and Villanova as 5 Athletes Advance to the NCAA Championship Meet
May 30. 2025 –
For those who qualified it is on to Oregon for a chance at an NCAA Championship. There are three University of Pennsylvania athletes and two from Villanova who earned their shot. Let’s look at the Day Three results.
Men’s 400m Hurdles
The Quakers have two hurdlers advance to the race semifinal round. The top three in each heat plus the next 3 fastest times will take to the starting line. Ryan Matulonis has the sixth fastest time running a 49.88. He was second in his heat. In that same race Alex Sadikov finished fifth and 11th overall. He was not an automatic qualifier, but his time of 50.21, a personal-best, was fast enough to qualify on time.
Men’s 1500m
Liam Murphy of Villanova will qualify and return to the Championship rounds. There are 12 runners advancing as the top five in each heat plus the next two fastest times punch their ticket to Eugene. Murphy finished fourth in his heat with a time of 3:44.83. The Wildcat led at the 700m and the 1100m mark running splits of 1:03.98 and 102.14. He was passed on the last lap as Murphy turned in a time of 53.73 over the final 400 meters. Edwin Klanke of Penn competed in the same heat where he finished 10th and 21st overall. The time for Klanke was 3:47.14. The top qualifier from the East is Abel Teffra of Georgetown who covered the distance in 3:38.65.
Men’s 5000m
Marco Langon of Villanova moves on as he won heat one in the race by .1 seconds over Ethan Strand of North Carolina. Langon’s time of 14:06.40 is the 8th best overall. The top seven finishers in heat two posted faster times than Langon. His best split of 54:06 came in the final 400 meters of the race. The top five finishers from each heat plus the next two fastest times would move on. It would cost Villanova freshman CJ Sullivan as he finished 8th in his heat, but did not qualify on time. He ran a 14:07.24 which is faster than three automatic qualifiers from heat one. Also in the race were Wildcats Devon Comber who was 24th (14:22.57), Charlie Moore just behind with a time of 14:23.57. Luke Johnson and Dylan Throop running for the Quakers finished 29th and 31st with times of 14:26.54 and 14:30.04. The fastest qualifier from the East is Rocky Hansen from Wake Forest who covered the distance in 13:36.54.
Men’s High Jump
Kampton Kam from Penn earned the final qualifying spot in the event with a height of 2.15m (7’6″). Six other jumpers cleared the bar at that height, but Kim moves on due to fewer misses. Fellow Quakers high jumper Conrad Moore placed 26th with a height of 2.05m (6’8.75″).
Those Who Did Not Advance
In the field Penn had three athletes compete where the top 12 finishers would move on to Oregon. Angeludi Asaah was 24th in the Women’s Shot Put with a distance of 15.66m. Kai Deines was 40th in the Men’s Discus with a throw of 49.38. Meghan Hart missed on her first three vaults in the Women’s Pole Vault.
David Butts of La Salle ran in the Men’s 3000m Steeple and came in 37th with a time of 9:08.97. His best lap time was on lap two where Butts ran a time of 1:10.24. The fastest qualifier from the East where twelve runners would go to the nationals was Kentucky freshman Collins Kiprop Kipngok who would set the Facility Record time in the event running a 8:24.91.
Dan Watcke of Villanova placed 17th in the Men’s 800m getting to the finish line in 1:47.49. He was fifth in heat three. The top three finishers in each heat plus the next three fastest times would run in Eugene.
The Penn Men’s 4 x 400 Relay team was 19th hitting the finish line in 3:06.64. The Quakers placed 19th in an event where 15 teams would advance.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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