Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships
Day One of Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Competition Complete
5/4/2001 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 4, 2001
WORCESTER, Mass. - After one day of competition at the 2001 Patriot League Championships, the Bucknell women's track and field team holds a one-point lead over Army for first place, and the men's squad is in second place behind Army with 57.50. The championships are being held at Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., on Friday and Saturday, May 4-5.
The women had one individual first place finish as freshman Maria Garcia (Providence, R.I./Hope) picked up the gold in the hammer throw, tossing 173'06.00, more than six feet further than the second place throw. Also earning points in the event was freshman Erin Lee (Olean, N.Y./Olean) with a personal-best and ninth all-time at Bucknell throw of 147'04.00. Freshman Laura Schaffer (Drums, Pa./Hazleton) just missed scoring for the Bison, hitting her season-best toss of 144'00.00 for the tenth-best throw in Bucknell history. The Bison women's 4X800 relay team also claimed the gold medal with a time of 9:08.53, ranking them ninth all-time at Bucknell. In the 10,000-meter race, the Orange and Blue took four of the top six spots. Sophomore Theresa Dennis (Wilkes Barre, Pa./Hanover Area) took second in the event with a time of 38:33.77. Senior Jessica Peterman (Amityville, N.Y./Amityville Memorial), freshman Holly Potts (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah) and freshman Stephanie Keller (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. In the high jump, junior Shannon Maher (Johnstown, Pa./Central Cambria) won the silver with a jump of 5'04.50. In the other women's event to finish on day one, Bucknell earned three of the top six spots in the long jump. Freshman Jamie Lilien (Hillsdale, N.J./Pascack Valley) came in third in the event, jumping 17'00.00, while junior Kim Zimbal (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) placed fifth with a jump of 16'08.50 and freshman Dionne Bonds (Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville Area) came in sixth with a leap of 16'06.50.
On the men's side, the Bison had an impressive showing in the 10,000 meter run, taking the top five spots, and claiming six of the top seven. Senior Brad Wertz (Altoona, Pa./Bellwood-Antis) took the gold, crossing the line in 32:38.78. The next four spots belonged to senior Kevin Weatherhill (Swedesboro, N.J./The Peddie School), freshman Marcus Jones (Midlothian, Va./Trinity Episcopal), graduate Chris Nowakowski (Waldorf, Md./Westlake) and senior James Stack (Damascus, Md./Damascus), respectively. Senior Nate Kraft (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) just missed scoring points for BU with a seventh place finish in the event. In the hammer throw, senior Ryan Stairs (Somerset, Pa./Somerset Area) won the event with a throw of 186'09.00, fourth-best all-time at Bucknell. Also placing was sophomore Adam Kaufman (Bridgeton, N.J./Saint Marks), tossing the eighth best throw in school history (163'10.00) for a sixth place finish. Freshman Noel Powell (Tamaqua, Pa./Tamaqua Area) won the silver in the long jump, jumping a season-best distance of 23'11.50, third best all-time, while freshman Emory Strother (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) placed sixth in the event with a jump of 21'07.5 and scored 1.5 points for Bucknell with fifth place in the high jump, leaping 6'05.00. Rounding out the Bison scoring on the men's side was the 4X800 relay team, which placed third in a time of 7:44.63.
Competition continues on day two, beginning at 11:00 a.m. with the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
