Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Penn State National Invitational
Bucknell Track and Field Has Record Weekend at Bison Open and at Penn State
1/31/2004 7:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Jan. 31, 2004
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell track and field teams may have been at two different sites this weekend, but Bison at both meets ended up writing their names in record books and punching their tickets to postseason competition. After weeks of inching closer to the school record in the 20-pound weight throw, senior Maria Garcia smashed the Bucknell mark by 11 ?" with a toss of 53' 11 ?", winning the event at the Bison Open and Pentathlon. Teammate Greg Costello had success of his own at the Penn State National Invitational, running the 5K in 14:28.59. Both meets were non-team scoring.
The throw qualifies Garcia for ECAC competition in March and comes a day after she threw the weight 51'10" at Penn State. While Garcia earned eighth on Friday in State College, teammate Greg Costello won the 5K race with a time of 14:28.59. It is the ninth-best finish all-time in Bucknell history, and qualifies the graduate student for IC4A competition. After qualifying for IC4A competition in the 3K earlier this month at Penn State, Costello becomes the second Bucknell athlete to ensure competition in two events at the postseason event. Noel Powell will run the 200 and compete in the long jump at the Boston meet. The third Bucknell athlete to double up on IC4A entries was Aaron Hanlon, who finished the 800 meter race in 1:54.29.
Another athlete to qualify for the March meet was freshman Angie Hall, who pole vaulted 11'9 ?" on Friday at Bucknell's meet, meeting the ECAC standard while winning the event. Hall was the only event winner at the Bison Open and Pentathlon on Friday, but had a couple teammates join her atop the winner's podium in Saturday's competition. Garcia won her weight throw event by over four feet ahead of Mildred Cooper of the Virginia Military Institute, and freshman Sarah Groman tied for a high-jump win with East Stroudsburg's Ann Donovan at 5'3".
Also qualifying for ECAC competition via the Penn State meet was junior distance runner Jennifer Marsh, who finished the 1000 meter race in 2:55.72, improving on her fifth-best all-time Bucknell finish. Also recording top-10 finishes for the Bison women were Sarah VandenBroek, who finished the 200 in a ninth-best 26.26, Monique Boley, who ran the 400 in 58.44, tying her for sixth-best, and Angie McFarland, who tied her personal record of 48'9", eighth-best all-time at Bucknell.
The Bison will head on the road to start February and compete in the Rhode Island Invitational in Kingston, R.I. on Feb. 7, before returning home for the Bucknell Winter Classic on Feb. 14 and the Patriot League Championships in Lewisburg on Feb. 20-22.
