Bucknell University
Patriot League Championship
Bison Men's Track Finishes Second at Patriot League Outdoor Championship
5/4/2002 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 4, 2002
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bison women's track & field team used a balanced team effort to earn its fourth straight Patriot League outdoor track & field title Saturday afternoon at Lehigh University's Goodman Track.
After leading Army by just 10 points following day one of the championship, the women's team gradually pulled away on day two and finished with 159 points, 30 better than the Black Knights. The Bison were victorious in just one event on Saturday, but captured 11 silver and bronze medals to earn the bulk of the team's scoring total.
In honor of the team's championship effort, the Bison coaching staff of head coach Kevin Donner and assistants Joe Klim, Scott Weiser and Bob Schanbacher was honored as the Patriot League Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year.
Navy finished third in the women's team standings with 103 points, and was followed by Lafayette (89), Lehigh (75), Colgate (58), Holy Cross (20) and American (18).
Bucknell's men's team came away with eight medals at day two of the championship and finished second to meet champion Army, which won its 11th straight Patriot League outdoor track title. The Black Knights finished with 216 points, while Bucknell accumulated a total of 124.5 points.
Rounding out the men's team standings were Lafayette (86.5), Lehigh (73), American (57), Holy Cross (33), Navy (31) and Colgate (30).
Stephanie Bango garnered the women's team's lone gold medal on Saturday, as she blazed past Colgate's Maura McCusker in the closing seconds of the 800-meter run. She finished with a time of 2:09.33 and broke her own school record for the third time this season. After winning the 3,200-meter relay on Friday, Bango wrapped up her brilliant collegiate career with 22 Patriot League gold medals.
Bango also snatched a pair of silver medals. The senior cruised to a personal-best time of 56.41 in the 400-meter dash. That time was also the second-best in school history. In the meet's final event, she anchored the 1,600-meter relay team that placed second in 3:48.53. Amy Calvo, Rehana Lanewala and LaTonya McSwain ran the first three legs of the 4x400 contingent that finished just 0.31 seconds behind Navy.
Chris Crowe, Edwina Bourn and Becki Marshall also earned silver medals for the Bison. Crowe chopped an amazing 27 seconds off her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and finished with a time of 10:41.98, just 0.89 off the winning pace set by Lucinda Hull of Lehigh.
Marshall ran a strong race in the 5,000-meter run. With a time of 17:22.20, she was bested by just over eight seconds by Samia Akbar of American. Bourn registered an outstanding performance in the 100-meter hurdles. With a time of 14.44, Bourn broke the BU record of 14.56 that had stood since 1990.
Pocketing bronze medals on day two of the championship for Bucknell's women's team were Kiley MacDonald (100-meter hurdles, 14.54), Erin Lee (discus, 142'1"), Lanewala (400-meter dash, 57.02), Bourn (400-meter hurdles, 1:04.29) and Shannon Maher (high jump, 5'5").
Pacing BU's men's team was Noel Powell. The sophomore tore up the track with victories in the 400-meter relay, 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash, and he was named as the Male Track Athlete of the Meet. Powell anchored the 400-meter relay team to victory in a time of 41.57. Along with Matt Solomon, David Gabriel and Ryan Newberger, Powell helped the Bison defeat event runner-up Army by over a half-second.
Powell won the gold in the 100 with a 10.72 clocking, 0.16 seconds faster than his nearest competitor. He capped off an incredible meet with a record-breaking performance in the 200, winning the event in 21.48, which topped Gabriel's school record of 21.55 set in 1999. Including his victory in the long jump on Friday, Powell walked away with four gold medals in all four events he competed in over the two-day championship.
Adding to the team's collection of hardware were silver-medal winners Richard Alexander and Greg Costello. Alexander raced to a personal-best time of 15.12 in the 110-meter hurdles, while Costello was clocked at 14:42.91 in an exciting 5,000-meter race that came down to a dead sprint won by Matt Seymour of American.
Earning bronze medals for Bucknell were Bryan Johnston (3,000-meter steeplechase, 9:02.22), P.J. Ward (1,500-meter run, 3:53.22) and Jeffrey Arek (pole vault, 15'3").
Both teams will continue their season on May 11-12 with the James Madison Invitational.
