Bucknell University Athletics
Five Bucknell Track and Field Student-Athletes Named to the Academic All-District Team
6/7/2007 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
June 7, 2007
LEWISBURG, Pa. - On Thursday, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced that seniors Lauren Bricker (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area), Melanie Buczko (Butler, Pa./Butler Area), Christa Sawko (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville Area), Joshua Kaehler (Hanover, Pa./Southwestern), along with junior David Mante (Warwick, N.Y./Warwick Valley) of the Bucknell men's and women's track and field teams, were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II First Team.
To be eligible for the Academic All-District team, an athlete must be have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing and be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. CoSIDA's District II covers Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Each of the five Bison honorees will move to the national ballot and be eligible for Academic All-America plaudits.
Bricker won the 800-meter dash twice at the Patriot League indoor championships. She was a member of the 4x800 team that won the league title and broke a Patriot League meet record in 2006. In the outdoor season, she took first at the 2006 Patriot League Championship in the 3,000 steeplechase. In 2005, Bricker was a member of the 4x800 team to win the ECAC Outdoor title, while also running legs on two Patriot League 4x800 title squads.
In the classroom, the Greensburg, Pa., native owns a 3.55 grade-point average as a chemistry major. She is also a three-time member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
Buczko, who was a member of All-District II Second Team last season, won three indoor and two outdoor Patriot League titles in the pole vault, while also posting a gold medal in the 60 hurdles over her four years. In 2004, she won the pole vault at the ECAC Outdoor Championships while also earning a first-place showing at the 2005 ECAC Indoor Championships. Buczko is a four-time ECAC indoor All-East performer. She was a 2004 Outdoor and 2005 Indoor NCAA Championship finalist. Buczko also earned two All-East and three NCAA East Regional honors during her career.
Buczko is a civil engineering major and holds a 3.71 grade-point average. The Butler, Pa., native is a two-time Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Scholar Athlete and has been a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll team in every season of her career.
Sawko is a two-time Patriot League indoor champion in the 800 and 1,000. She is a four-time First Team All-Patriot League selection and has been a second-team all-league performer. The Montoursville, Pa., native was a member of the 4x800 relay team which broke a league meet record, and ran a leg in the 4x400 relay team, which resulted in a gold medal. She is a four-time All-East member and owns the school record in the 1,000. On the outdoor track, Sawko won three 800, two 4x800 relay and one 1,500 league titles in her career. She ran a leg on the 4x800 team that won an ECAC Championship title and was also a two-time NCAA East Regional qualifier.
Sawko is an English and sociology major with a 3.73 grade-point average. She has been a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll team throughout her career.
Kaehler is a two-time Patriot League javelin champion. He was named the 2007 Patriot League Male Field Athlete of the Meet after breaking both the Patriot League meet and school records. Kaehler is a two-time First Team All-Patriot League Honoree and All-East selection. The Hanover, Pa., native is also a two-time NCAA East Regional qualifier.
The senior owns a 3.65 grade-point average as a civil engineering major and is a member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
This season, Mante won the Patriot League Indoor and Outdoor title in the pole vault. He was an indoor and outdoor IC4A qualifier as well as a NCAA East Regional qualifier.
In the classroom, Mante holds a 3.56 grade-point average as a civil engineering major. He is a member of Chi Omega Civil Engineering Honor Society and the Phi Lambda Delta Honor Society. A two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll member, he was also selected as the 2007 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete.
The men's Academic All-America team will be released on Monday, June 25, while the women's will be released on Wednesday, June 27.
