Villanova men, women go 5-for-5 in distance events
PHILADELPHIA » In the span of roughly 20 hours Casey Comber went from relative unknown to Villanova legend.
Two weeks ago, the sophomore from Hatboro-Horsham wasn’t in the mix for Villanova’s two entries in the 124th Penn Relays Carnival.
By 1:30 Saturday afternoon, Comber was a two-time champion, something that hasn’t happened in more than a generation.
A day after he anchored the distance medley relay to its first Penn Relays title since 2011, Comber employed the same tactics he used to win that race to bring home the title in the 4 x mile Championship of America with a time of 16 minutes, 23.75 seconds.
It was the first time the Wildcats won two events at the Penn Relays since 1984, when head coach Marcus O’Sullivan was a senior. The Wildcats won the 4 x 1,500-meter relay, the predecessor of the 4 x mile, and 4 x 800 that year. O’Sullivan was on both relays.
And that was just the start of a big day for both the men’s and women’s programs at Villanova. Roughly 2½ hours after the men claimed their second title of the carnival, the women’s squad won the 4 x 800 to complete the distance relay triple (DMR, 4 x 1,500, 4 x 800) for the second year in a row, third time in five years and the seventh time in program history.
Senior Siofra Cleirigh Buttner anchored the team of Kelsey Margey, Rachel McArthur and Keegan McKenna to the second-fastest time (8:19.98) in program history. Combined, the men’s and women’s teams won all five distance relays the teams entered this weekend.
“I know (the men’s team) they said that they got inspiration from us so this definitely underlines the whole tradition of all you need is four kids in a white vest who know that tradition to get it done,” Cleirigh Buttner said.
Comber’s double victory was the first time a Villanova athlete anchored two winning relays since Olympian John Marshall ran the final legs of the 4 x 800 and sprint medley relays in 1982. Comber is the first Wildcat to anchor two winning distance relay teams since Sydney Maree brought home the title in the DMR and 4 x 1,500.
“Wow,” was all Comber could say when told of his historic accomplishment.
Comber’s relay teammates, Logan Wetzel, Ben Malone, who also was on Friday’s winning DMR, and Andrew Marston, weren’t surprised Comber was able to bring home the title in the same way he did the DMR.
“Casey’s cold hard cash,” Marston said.
“Clearly, Case is on fire right now,” Malone said. “I just knew that if we gave him a chance to win he could do it for us. He’s so strong and I knew once he made that move on the back stretch he would will it home and he did. He just out-willed everyone two days in a row.”
Wetzel, Malone and Marston did their part. The Wildcats were in third place, behind Adams State and Georgetown, when Comber received the baton for the anchor leg. He was about 15 meters behind the leaders, but made up that difference on the first leg.
As he did Friday in the DMR, Comber took the lead with about 600 meters to go in the race and held off Georgetown’s Amos Bartelsmeyer, who stumbled twice in the final 50 meters trying to catch Comber.
“Bartelsmeyer buckled literally from the stress and pressure from having to catch something that was not catchable today,” O’Sullivan said.
“That last lap was about fighting and fighting and fighting to bring it home,” Comber said.
There was a lot of grit and emotion in the women’s race, too. Before Keegan lined up in the exchange zone she looked at Cleirigh Buttner, who gave Keegan a clear message before she received the baton from McArthur.
“She was pointing to her heart and I knew that at that moment it was all heart out there,” Keegan said. “You run with your heart and you run for the three people sitting next to you. I knew I had to lay it all out on the line.”
There was no catching Cleirigh Buttner on the final leg. She had a 10-meter lead when she received the stick from Keegan and won by nearly six seconds. As she crossed the finish line, Cleirigh Buttner kissed the baton as a Penn Relays winner for the eighth and last time in her career. Only Angel Piccirillo, with nine wheels, has won more at Penn.
It was her way of saying goodbye and brought both Cleirigh Buttner and Margey to tears.
“It was something that, right then, was in the moment, but right now I realize how important that was to me,” Cleirigh Buttner said.