Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Track & Field Squads Place First at the Bison Octagonal
1/19/2002 7:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Jan. 19, 2002
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Led by a pair of record-breaking performances from sophomore Noel Powell and senior Andrea Nyce, the Bucknell University track & field teams placed first at the Bison Octagonal this afternoon in the Gerhard Fieldhouse.
The Bison men's team accumulated 147 total points, and beat second-place finisher St. Francis by 54 points. Maryland-Baltimore County (92), Towson (62), Maryland-Eastern Shore (45), Lock Haven (43), Delaware (39) and Temple (37) rounded out the men's team scoring.
Bucknell's women's team also won convincingly, picking up a total of 195 points, 110 more than meet runner-up Temple. Maryland-Baltimore County (63) finished third, followed by Maryland-Eastern Shore (63), Delaware (50), St. Francis (45), Lock Haven (40) and Towson (16).
Powell turned in an outstanding performance in the long jump, winning the event with a leap of 24'9 ?", a new Bucknell school record. He also exceeded the NCAA Provisional standard with the jump.
Sophomore Jeffrey Arek and junior Eric Furst also recorded one individual victory apiece for Bucknell's men's team. Arek captured the pole vault with a mark of 14'9", while Furst won the 800m run in 1:55.46.
The men's team also had a winning relay team. Senior P.J. Ward, senior Cotie Strong, sophomore Aaron Hanlon and sophomore Thomas Prochilo teamed up to finish first in the 3,200m relay in 7:57.36.
Nyce led the women's squad by breaking her own school record in the pole vault. Her winning vault of 12'1" was over one and a half feet better than her nearest competitor.
Six other Bison placed first in the women's competition. Senior Chris Crowe won the 5,000m run in 18:05.92, while classmate Kelly McConnell was clocked at 5:09.18 in winning the mile. Senior LaTonya McSwain crossed the line first in the 800m run with a time of 2:17.08, and freshman Amy Calvo posted the fourth-fastest time in school history in winning the 500m dash in 1:17.01.
Also breaking into Bucknell's all-time top-10 list was senior Stephanie Bango, who won the 1,000m run in 2:54.81, the fourth-best time in BU history. Senior Becki Marshall captured the 3,000m run in 10:33.80.
Other members of the women's team who recorded top-10 performances were freshmen Rehana Lanewala, Tolulope Fayanjuola and Elizabeth Pendelton. Lanewala's 57.99 clocking in the 400m dash was the third-best mark ever at Bucknell. Lanewala placed second in the event. Fayanjuola placed third in the high jump in 5'3", ninth on the BU top-10 list, and Pendelton took third in the weight throw with a heave of 47'4 ?, eighth all-time at Bucknell.
Bucknell also won both relay events. In the 3,200m relay, McConnell, senior Kristin Ferrell, freshman Kelly Raffety and junior Nicki Piper came from behind to defeat Delaware with a time of 9:47.75. The Bison's 1,600m relay squad, featuring Calvo, McSwain, Lanewala and Bango, dominated their competition, winning the event in 3:55.02, over eight seconds better than second-place finisher UMBC. Their time was also the ninth-fastest all-time at Bucknell.
Bucknell's men's and women's teams will return to action next Saturday. Part of the team will compete in the National Invitational held at Penn State, while the remainder of the Bison will participate in the BU Winter Classic back at the Gerhard Fieldhouse.
