Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Track And Field Opens Indoor Season At Home Saturday
11/27/2007 7:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
Nov. 27, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's and women's track and field teams are set to start the 2007-08 indoor season at home this Saturday, Dec. 1, with the Bison Opener. Field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and running events will start at 11 a.m. at Gerhard Fieldhouse; a complete schedule of events is available at BucknellBison.com.
On the men's side, the Bison are coming off a third-place Patriot League finish indoors and a second-place league finish outdoors last season. Returning top scorers in each event and bringing in an incoming class with fresh new talent, the men's team looks to build on the success from last season and keep on developing.
"Last year was one of the greatest years in school history for our men's track and field program," said head coach Kevin Donner, "Although we did graduate some of our outstanding competitors, I feel that the foundation has been laid to make a nice run for a Patriot League title. We have some great athletes in each event area as we continue to run a full-dimensional program."
Sprints
Junior Kerry Boyle (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) will lead the sprinters. He was the Patriot League indoor champion last season in the 200-meter dash (22.22) and the 400 (48.36). At the outdoor championships, he set a school record of 21.24 in the preliminaries for the 200. Additionally, Boyle qualified for the IC4A Championships for the indoor 200, 400, 500, and the outdoor 400.
To handle the short sprints (100 and 200), the Bison will look to senior Matthew Johnson (Newburgh, NY/Marlboro Central). Johnson is also a valuable member of the Bucknell 4x100 relay team. Sophomore Gregory Baxter (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley) returns as a solid 400 runner. He was a member of the 4x400 relay team that ran at the outdoor IC4A Championships.
One newcomer that Donner feels will make an impact this season is freshman Guy Castranova (Trenton, N.J./Notre Dame). In high school, he ran the 400 in under 49 seconds.
Hurdles
Junior Kevin Macleod (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) was the highest scorer for the Bison in the hurdle events last year. He was the 2007 outdoor Patriot League Champion in the 400 hurdles, with the
second-fastest time in program history (52.60), and the 110 hurdles (14:74). Additionally, MacLeod was an outdoor IC4A qualifier in the 110 and 400 hurdles and an NCAA Regional qualifier in the 400 hurdles. Indoors, he qualified for the IC4A Championships in the 60 hurdles and was a valuable member of the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.
Another strong hurdler for the Bison will be sophomore Andrew Yehl (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown). Last season, Yehl scored in the outdoor high hurdles and ran the 110 high hurdles at the IC4A Championships after qualifying with a personal-best time of 14:84 in the prelims at the Patriot League Championships.
Mid-Distance
Senior Brian Mooney (Rochester, NY/Gates-Chili) returns as an IC4A qualifier in the indoor 800 (1:54.28) and 1,000 (2:29.45) last season. He scored for the Bison at the Patriot League Championships in the 800 and was a valuable member of the Bucknell 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams.
Donner will look to sophomore Kyle Ramer (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) to build on his outstanding freshman year, as he was an IC4A-qualifying 4x800 relay team member last season. Sophomore Clement Gyan (Yonlers, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) is an athlete who will look to make an impact this season as Donner noticed his development toward the end of outdoor season last year, as a member of Bucknell's 4x800 and 4x400 relay teams.
Distance
Senior Wallace Campbell (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Acad.) returns as the Patriot League runner-up for the outdoor 10,000 from last season. He scored in the 3,000 (8:32.41; sixth) and the 5,000 (14:38.68; third) at the indoor Patriot League Championships last season and was an IC4A qualifier in the mile, 3,000 and 5,000 indoors. Outdoors, he qualified for the IC4A Championships in the 5,000 and 10,000.
Two years ago, senior Andrew Corral (Bellport, NY/Bellport) was a Patriot League scorer for Bucknell in the 3,000 steeplechase and last season, competed in the steeplechase and the 5,000 at the league meet.
Additionally, Donner notices that sophomore Andrew Huebner (Hampton Falls, N.H./Governor Dummer Academy) developed nicely last season and he will look to Huebner to step up for the Bison in the 3,000 steeplechase, 5,000, and the mile. Junior Clinton Orloski (Butler, Pa./Slippery Rock) is another athlete that Donner feels has become one of Bucknell's better cross country runners, and he expects this development to carry over for Orloski in the 3,000, 5,000, and 10,000 this season.
Jumps
Sophomore Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central) will lead the Bison in jumps, as last year's indoor Patriot League triple jump champion (49-7 ¾) and the runner-up for the indoor long jump (23-0 ¾) indoors. Anthony also scored at the IC4A Championships and made All-East in both the long jump and the triple jump, taking third in the long jump (23-4 ¾). He was an IC4A qualifier in long jump and triple jump outdoors as well.
Senior Mike Contino (Broomall, Pa./Episcopal Acad.) scored both indoors (21-2 ½; 12th) and outdoors (21-3 ¼; seventh) in the long jump for the Bison as a sophomore, and senior Ryan Robinson (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) also returns as a consistent Patriot League scorer for Bucknell in the high jump. The Bison will welcome freshman Nicholas Hruch (Sykesville, Md./Liberty), who posted a 6-8 jump in high school.
Pole Vault
The Bison return the defending indoor (15-3) and outdoor (16-0 ¾) Patriot League Champion in the pole vault in senior David Mante (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley). Mante made All-East and placed eighth at the IC4A Championships indoors, with the fourth-best height in school history (15-5). He was also an NCAA Regional qualifier last season.
Donner will look for freshman Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, Pa./Ballston Spa) to make an impact in the pole vault this season. The newcomer went over 15 feet in high school.
Multi
In the multi events, the Bison return two athletes who scored at the Patriot League Championships last season. Sophomore Ryan White (Elkins Park, Pa./Father Judge) placed second in the decathlon outdoors (6,234) and fourth in the heptathlon (4,419) indoors. Sophomore Thomas Vogler (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) placed fourth (5,904) in the decathlon outdoors and Donner expects great things from Vogler this season as he has noticed tremendous improvement.
Throws
Senior James Meyer (Pac. Palisades, Calif./Pacific Palisades) took third in the weight throw with the seventh-best throw in program history (55-7 ¼) at last year's indoor Patriot League Championships. He was an IC4A qualifier and scored for the Bison in the hammer throw (166-8; sixth) at the outdoor Patriot League Championships.
Donner notes sophomore Tim Medlock (Evan Mills, N.Y./Indian River) as an athlete who has made improvements in the shot put and was able to score at the outdoor championships last season. In addition, sophomore Stephen Pierce (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood) was an NCAA Regional and IC4A qualifier in javelin last season, but was hurt before the championship meets. Donner hope to have Pierce back by the time outdoor season begins.
Incoming freshman Zachary Shapiro (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) joins the Bison after throwing over 58 feet in high school. Donner feels that Shapiro is one of the top shot putters he has brought into the program.
