Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Indoor Track and Field Squad Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll
11/29/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Nov. 29, 2006
LEWISBURG, Pa - On Wednesday, the Patriot League announced the 2007 Men's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll. Bucknell was voted sixth out of eight teams. Army (97) took home 13 first-place votes, while the 2006 Patriot League Champion, Navy (86) collected three first-place votes. Lehigh (63), American (60) and Lafayette (53) rounded out the top-five. Colgate (25) and Holy Cross were picked seventh and eighth, respectively. The Bucknell indoor track and field teams will be hosting the Bison Opener on Saturday, Dec. 2, in the Gerhard Fieldhouse. The meet kicks off with the field events starting at 10 a.m., while the running events will be at 11 a.m. with the 5000 meter run.
Head Coach Kevin Donner is projecting the Bucknell men's track and field squad to be much improved for the 2006-07. "We return most of our student-athletes, many were able to gain a great deal of experience last year. Every area has quality returnees," said Donner. "We're hoping to be one of the top three teams in the Patriot League."
The Bison will look for seniors Matthew Bonelli and Eric Guja to provide leadership for the Bucknell sprinters. Bonelli was a member of Bucknell's 4x400-meter relay team that set a new school record at the IC4A Championships in 2006 along with sophomore Kerry Boyle, who is another top returnee for the Orange and Blue. As a freshman in 2005-06, Boyle broke the Bucknell indoor 400 record at the IC4As and scored in the 500 at the Patriot League Championships, where he took second and was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team. Outdoors, Boyle scored at the league meet, placing fourth in the 400. Junior Matthew Johnson will be looked to for contributions in the 100 and 200 events. Freshman Gregory Baxter, who was the New York State runner-up in the 400 out of Chenango Valley High School will give the Orange and Blue additional depth.
In the hurdles, senior John MacFeeters and sophomore Kevin Macleod will be among the returning Bucknell hurdlers who showed great improvement last season. MacLeod, one of the squad's top performers in the 400 hurdles, suffered an injury during the 2006 outdoor season, but is back healthy for his sophomore campaign. The Bison will also welcome freshman Andrew Yehl, who was an all-state hurdler for Elizabethtown High School in Elizabethtown, Pa.
Bucknell returns junior Brian Mooney, classmate James Redmond, senior Adam Syty and senior Mark Caroleo, who have all been key members of the middle-distance corps for the Orange and Blue in the past. Last season, Caroleo, Syty and Mooney all earned All-East accolades as members of the Bison distance medley relay that ran the fifth-fastest time in school history at the IC4A Championships.
A pair of IC4A qualifiers will head up the squad in the distance events. Senior Matt Forys, who qualified in the 5,000 for both the indoor and the outdoor IC4As and scored in the event at the indoor Patriot League Championships, placing fifth, returns for 2006-07. This fall, the senior became the sixth runner in Bucknellhistory to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships. He also competed in the 3,000 steeplechase outdoors at the IC4A Championships this past spring. Junior Wallace Campbell will look to build off his successful sophomore campaign, which saw him earn All-East honors for the indoor 3,000, finish as the runner up in the 10,000 outdoors at the Patriot League Championships for all-league second team recognition and qualify for IC4As in the 5,000 during the outdoor season.
The Bison will depend on Patriot League scorers sophomore Ryan Robinson and junior Michael Contino to lead the way in 2006-07 in the jumping events. Robinson was the runner-up in the indoor high jump at the Patriot League Championships last season and was named to the all-league second team. He scored again in the high jump outdoors at the league meet with a sixth-place showing. Throughout his career with the Orange and Blue, Contino has proven to be a consistent point scorer for the squad. At the 2006 Patriot League Indoor Championships, he took sixth in the long jump. Bucknell also added freshman Kyle Anthony to its contingent of jumpers. Anthony joins the Bison out of Barryville, N.Y., and Eldred Central High School where he was the New York state champion in both the long jump and triple jump.
In the pole vault, David Mante will look to contribute for Bucknell, once again. Last season, Mante garnered points in the event indoors and outdoors at the Patriot League Championships and set a personal record outdoors that qualified him for the IC4A Championships. The Bison have depth in the event with freshman Jason Inzana joining the ranks. Inzana, a native of Birdsboro, Pa., earned all-state recognition in the pole vault while competing at Daniel Boone High School.
Senior Tyler Hoffman, who took home the weight throw Patriot League Championship last season, will look for his second-straight title. Hoffman was also an IC4A qualifier in the weight throw indoors and in the hammer outdoors. Bucknell welcomes a qualified group of recruits who will look to contribute in the throws, as well. Timothy Medlock, a native of Evan Mills, N.Y., was an all-state shot putter at Indian River High School.
