Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Track Teams Race to Solid Starts at Colonial Relays
4/5/2002 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 5, 2002
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - On the strength of 26 top-eight finishes, the Bucknell University men's and women's track & field teams are among the leaders in the team standings following the opening day of competition Friday afternoon at the Colonial Relays, hosted by the College of William & Mary.
The women's team is currently in second place, and with 76 points trails Seton Hall by 40 points. The mens' squad recorded a 56-point total, good for fourth place. The Bison men trail William & Mary (56), Rutgers (79) and Rhode Island (81).
Senior Stephanie Bango and sophomore Erin Lee paced the women's team with one first-place performance apiece. Bango took first among 40 competitors in the 800m run in a time of 2:11.48, just over a second off her own school record set last week at the Raleigh Relays. Lee led a 1-2-3 Bison sweep in the hammer throw with a toss of 145'10".
Lee and sophomore Maria Garcia each turned in a second-place finish. Lee was second in the javelin, and posted the eighth-best throw in school history at 127'1". Garcia was the runner-up behind Lee in the hammer with a throw of 144'4".
Senior Kelly McConnell turned in another impressive performance in the 1,500m run, as she came in third in 4:38.28. Her time, which is the second-fastest in school history, is one-tenth of a second faster than her personal-best that she set last weekend at the Raleigh Relays. Freshman Danielle Brown came in third in the javelin (119'1", 10th all-time at Bucknell), and classmate Angela McFarland placed third in the hammer (137'6").
Placing fourth was junior Edwina Bourn in the 400m hurdles (1:04.46), while freshmen Kiley MacDonald and Gwendolyn Soult each came in fifth. MacDonald raced to the fifth-best time ever at BU with a 14.86 clocking in the 100m hurdles, while Soult threw the hammer 137'1".
Also finishing among the top-eight for the women's team were senior LaTonya McSwain (sixth, 800m run, 2:16.07), freshman Rehana Lanewala (seventh, 200m dash, 25.76), freshman Kelly Raffety (seventh, steeplechase, 11:58.41), freshman Amy Calvo (eighth, 400m dash, 58.11), senior Becki Marshall, (eighth, 1,500m run, 4:50.62) and senior Kristin Ferrell (eighth, 5,000m run, 17:58.17). Calvo's 400 time was eighth on Bucknell's all-time charts.
Sophomore Noel Powell paced the Bison with the lone first-place finish on the men's side. Powell finished first in a 16-man field in the long jump with a leap of 23'9". He also came in eighth in the 100m dash in 11.31.
Junior Bryan Johnston took second and was the top collegiate finisher in the steeplechase. With a time of 9:13.05, Johnston finished just 0.54 seconds behind Matt Moran, an unattached runner.
Taking fourth for the Bison were junior Matt Solomon in the 100m dash (11.12) and sophomore Nicholas Mousetis in the steeplechase (9:25.15). Senior David Gabriel came in fifth in the 100m dash in 11.23, while junior Adam Kaufman finished fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 164'9".
Other Bison who were among the top-eighth in their respective events in the men's competition were junior Lou Palma (sixth, 1,500m run, 3:56.05), senior Evan Honeyfield (sixth, 5,000m run, 14:56.34), junior Eric Furst (seventh, 1,500m run, 3:56.09) and freshman August Siciliano (eighth, hammer, 142'7").
The Colonial Relays will conclude Saturday with races starting at 9 a.m.
