Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Indoor Track and Field Prepares for Patriot League Championships
2/14/2007 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 14, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa - On Friday, the Bucknell men's and women's track and field squads will travel to West Point, N.Y., to compete in the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Army. The women look to win their sixth straight championship and 11th overall, while the men hope to post their first league title since 1993.
On the women's side, seniors Marjorie Grap (Van Etten, N.Y./Spencer-Van Etten), Melanie Buczko (Butler, Pa./Butler) and Nina Reinhardt (Northport, N.Y./Northport) will lead the Bison in the field events.
Grap is an NCAA provisional and ECAC qualifier in the 20-lb weight throw with a toss of 65 feet, 7 ½ inches (20.00m). Her toss leads the Patriot League and ranks her ninth in the NCAA. She is also an ECAC qualifier in the shot put with a distance of 46-2, which is the second-best distance in the league. Buczko became an NCAA provisional qualifier at the Bucknell Winter Classic after clearing a height of 13-4 ¼ (4.07m) in the pole vault, which tops the league and lists her 12th in the NCAA. Reinhardt broke a 25-year-old school record at the Bison Open and Multi to qualify for the ECAC Championships in the pentathlon with a score of 3,504 points, which leads the league.
Seniors Christa Sawko (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville Area), Erin Cranmer-Hart (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock), Jenny Stevens (Laceyville, Pa./Wyalusing Valley) and Catherine Trentacoste (Garden City, N.J./Garden City) will head up the track events.
Sawko has qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 800-, 1,000-, one-mile-runs along with the 4x400 relay team. She owns the best time in the league in the 800 with a showing of 2 minutes, 10.42seconds at the Sykes-Sabok Challenge. Cranmer-Hart posted a time of 4:57.89 in the one-mile, which is the best time in the conference and qualified her for the ECAC Championships. Stevens became an ECAC qualifier after she ran a time of 17:30.78 in the 5,000 at the Akron Open. Trentacoste qualified for the ECAC Championships in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.82.
"Our ladies are very focused and hungry," said head track and field coach Kevin Donner. "We have a large group of seniors that are looking forward to their last Patriot league Indoor Championship."
For the men, sophomores Kerry Boyle (Hazleton, Pa./Hazleton) and Kevin Macleod (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow), juniors Brian Mooney (Rochester, N.Y./Gates-Chile) and Wallace Campbell (Montgomery, Ala./Montgomery Acad.) and seniors Mark Caroleo (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) and Matthew Forys (Howell, N.J./Howell) will look to compete strong in the track events.
Boyle has qualified for the IC4A Championships in the 200, 400, 500 and is part of the 4x400 team. His time of 47.58 in the 400 is a school record and is the fastest time in the league. He also holds the best time in the 200 with a time of 22.19, which ranks him fourth in school history. MacLeod posted a time of 8.25 at the Bucknell Winter Classic, which qualified him for the IC4A Championships and ranks him first in the league. Mooney ran the 800 in 1:54.43 at the Akron Open to qualify for the IC4A Championships.
Campbell has qualified for the championships in both the one-mile and the 3,000, with times of 4:11.23 and 8:26.65, respectively. Caroleo ran a time of 2:27.60 in the 1,000, which made him IC4A qualifier and lists him fourth in the league. Forys has qualified for the 3,000 and 5,000. His time of 14:16.28 recorded at the Penn State National Invitational tops the Patriot League.
Senior Tyler Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) and freshman Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central) will lead Bucknell in the fields events.
Hoffman is an NCAA provisional and IC4A qualifier in the 35-lb weight throw. His toss of 65-2 (19.86m) at the Bucknell Winter Classic was a new school record and ranks him first in the league and 17th in the NCAA. Anthony started his freshman campaign at the Bison Opener and qualified for the IC4A Championships in the long and triple jumps. His distance in both events rank him second in the Patriot League.
The Patriot League Championship will begin on Friday, Feb. 16, at 12 p.m. with the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon.
