Trusting his ‘instincts,’ Marco Langon leads Villanova to a 4xMile victory at the Penn Relays

When Marco Langon got back to Villanova’s campus on Friday evening, after anchoring the Wildcats to a second-place finish in the college men’s distance medley championship, he said he cried in the shower.

This honest admission, told to reporters on Saturday, was an extension of the disappointment he displayed immediately after Friday’s race. However, it was a departure from the self-assured, increasingly unfiltered quotes the runner is known for giving to the press.

With Langon set to anchor Villanova in the 4xMile championship on Saturday, he did not have much time to harp on the loss.

“[I] soaked in my sorrows for five minutes, put on some [songs from rapper] NBA YoungBoy, stopped feeling sorry for myself and just went into the next day a new man,” Langon said.

» READ MORE: Marco Langon anchors Villanova to a second-place finish in the college men’s DMR

That he did. On Saturday, Villanova won the 4xMile behind a final push by Langon. The Wildcats clocked a finishing time of 16 minutes, 18.47 seconds – five milliseconds faster than second-place Oregon. In Friday’s DMR championship loss, it was Langon who finished close behind the Ducks’ Simeon Birnbaum. This time, roles were reversed.

“With 150 [meters] to go, I was on Marco’s shoulder, and I was just feeling pretty confident,” Birnbaum said. “I thought I was going to win, but Marco surprised me. He can close faster than I thought.”

Langon’s last leg of the race clocked in at 3 minutes, 55.94 seconds. He followed up impressive legs by relay teammates Seán Donoghue (4:13.98), Ben Thomas (4:11.61), and Bailey Habler (3:56.94), respectively.

The win marked Villanova’s 23rd Penn Relays Wheel in program history.

“I knew that the next day that we were going to win this thing,” Langon said. “I was just going to trust my instincts. When I went to the front, I wasn’t going to look back. I just got faster and faster.

“I knew I wanted to win this wheel so [expletive] badly – for my teammates, for my family, my mom, my sister, [head coach] Marcus [Sullivan], my girlfriend, everybody. I wanted to win this wheel for everybody.”

As for O’Sullivan, he too shared Langon’s excitement, but more so for Langon himself.

“This is huge for [Langon],” O’Sullivan said. “And this will be compared to all the things he’s going to go on and do, whether it be world championships or Olympics.”

Villanova was not the only Philadelphia program to come away with a Relays championship on Saturday. Penn saw two athletes take home gold watches.

First, it was senior high jumper Kampton Kam. For the second year in a row, the native Singaporean won the college men’s high jump championship after clearing the 2.17-meters bar after two attempts.

“As a senior, it’s bittersweet,” Kam said. “Everything’s coming to an end. Everything’s like my last time here. In terms of seeing friends. This is my last time jumping at home, outdoors — kind of nostalgic. I was a freshman here. In a blink of an eye, I’m a senior.”

Shortly after, a Quaker at the beginning of her collegiate career came away with a championship win.

Jessica Oji, a thrower, won the college women’s shot put championship behind an 18.15 meters (59.5 feet) throw on her third attempt. Second place went to Virginia’s Brooke Lumpkin, whose longest throw netted 16.23 meters (53.2 feet).

“I’ve always wanted to win this meet while wearing the Penn stripes,” Oji said. “It’s been a huge goal for me. When I committed here, I was like, ‘I have to win this meet all four years.’ This is just the start of it.”

Oji has already put together an impressive resumé at Penn, being named an NCAA first-team All-American for indoor shot put. At her first-ever collegiate meet in December, the New Jersey native broke the Ivy League shot put record.

Notably, in a four-team race, Villanova finished third in the college women’s 4x1500-meter championship. The Wildcats logged a time of 17.19.34 – just under 20 seconds behind first-place N.C. State.

Later, when Penn State came away with the championship wheel in the college women’s 4x800-meter, Stanford’s Juliette Whittaker anchored the Cardinals to a second-place finish. Whittaker is the sister of former Penn runner Isabella Whittaker, who was back at Franklin Field this weekend as a brand ambassador with On.

As Juliette started her final lap, Isabella coached her up from the infield — yelling at her sister to finish strong.

“As amazing as the energy and crowds are here, it can get really overwhelming, so it was really nice coming onto the infield and seeing so many familiar faces,” said Juliette.

Added Isabella: “It’s fun to be a spectator for once, and also to be here and watch her compete is obviously super special. … You can’t really explain the energy of this meet and how it compares to other meets.”

Inquirer reporter Jonathan Tannenwald contributed to this report.