Villanova runner puts NCAA championship in his sights; Penn athlete wins the javelin

For Sean Dolan, running comes naturally. As a middle distance runner for Villanova, he’s been a consistent top performer. After two years of collegiate running, he has three Big East titles in the 800-meter run and has earned All-America recognition twice.

He is trying for a third All-America honor this week at the men’s and women’s NCAA outdoor track and field championships in Eugene, Ore.

In Wednesday’s semifinals of the 800, Dolan finished fifth with a time of 1:46.96 and qualified for Friday’s final, a scheduled 7:14 p.m. start. Dolan placed first overall in the 800 last week in the Eastern qualifiers.

“[Sean’s] one of the best in the country: not only in the NCAA, in general,” his brother Tim Dolan said.

Sean Dolan was one of four Villanova representatives to travel to Oregon for nationals. He is joined by Haftu Strintzos, McKenna Keegan, and Sanaa Barnes.

Strintzos finished 19th in the 10,000-meter race on Wednesday. Keegan will run the women’s 800, with the semifinal Thursday night and final on Saturday. Barnes will be participating in the women’s high jump, which takes place Saturday.

» READ MORE: La Salle sisters Grace and El Mancini head to the NCAAs

Other Philadelphia athletes at the NCAAs include Marc Minichello of Penn, who won the men’s javelin on Wednesday with a throw of 266 feet, 3 inches. Penn’s Mayyi Mahama competed in the hammer throw Thursday afternoon, and LaSalle’s Elizabeth Mancini competes in the women’s 5,000 on Saturday.

Both of Sean Dolan’s parents grew up on the track. Father Steve ran in college for St. Thomas (Minn.) and mother Nicole for Wagner. Steve Dolan was a multi-event athlete, often competing in the decathlon, while Nicole Dolan focused on middle distance running.

Steve Dolan now serves as the director of track and field and cross-country at Penn. Last month, he was named Ivy League women’s outdoor track and field coach of the year after leading the Quakers to their third straight Ivy title.

“It’s always been around my brother and I, [and we] decided to really give it a go in high school and so we kind of just fell in love with it,” said Sean Dolan of Ewing, N.J. “It wasn’t forced upon us by any means. We played every other sport in the world, but you know, it’s running that’s stuck with us.”

The father-son relationship turned into a coach-player dynamic when Tim Dolan committed to middle distance running for Penn in the class of 2022. When it became Sean Dolan’s turn to experience the college recruitment process, he settled on Villanova.

“We wanted them to go wherever they wanted to go and do whatever they wanted to do,” Steve Dolan said. “We were fortunate that they go to great schools in Philadelphia, and we were able to stay a little bit more connected as a family.”

Although Steve Dolan will don the red and blue in Oregon, he will still be rooting for his son.

“The parent part is the one that trumps all. You always want to just see them enjoying things and having fun and being successful in their own rights,” he said. “We’re really proud of them and it’s been a fun journey.”