Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Track and Field Teams Compete At Red Flash Open
4/25/2009 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 25, 2009
LORETTO, Pa. - Bucknell's men's and women's track and field teams used Saint Francis' (Pa.) Red Flash Open meet as an warm up for next weekend's Patriot League Championships and also a venue to get another late season championship-qualifying mark. The Bison showed strong performances in the field events, with handfuls of marks cracking the top-10 lists for all-time Bucknell performances, but were led by freshman Ted Heitzman (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia), whose javelin throw earned him a trip the NCAA Regional Championships next month.
"We rested a bunch of kids for Patriot Leagues. This was great tune-up, and getting our fifth NCAA-Regional qualifier is just great," Bison head coach Kevin Donner said.
Heitzman won the javelin throw with a 202 foot, 7 inch mark which gives him the opportunity to compete with his teammate, junior Steven Pierce (Ridgewood, N.J./Ridgewood), who already qualified for the NCAA Regional Meet in the javelin. Heitzman now resides in eighth place on Bucknell's all-time performance list.
The Bison men had other good results off the track, in the field events, as junior Timothy Medlock (Evan Mills, N.Y./Indian River) produced his best throw of the season, at 52-0, for fifth place in the shot put. Sophomore Zachary Shapiro (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) and freshman Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) followed in sixth and seventh place, respectively, throwing 50-10 ¼ and 50-3 ¼. Barr's mark was good enough to move into seventh-place on Bucknell's all-time top-10 list.
In the 1,500-meter run, sophomore Christopher Boyd (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas S. Whooton) was victorious, running 3 minute, 57.09 seconds for the fastest Bison time this spring at that distance. Freshman Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) grabbed a second-place finish in the 5,000 in 15:58.65 to round out the top Bucknell marks on the track.
For the women, the Bison were led by junior Chelsey Musante (Shelton, Conn./Shelton), who took a pair of third-place finishes in the throwing events. In the hammer throw, Musante's best throw was a toss of 165-9. She followed her hammer throw with a 43-4 distance in the shot put. Bucknell went 2-3 in the javelin throw with freshman Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin) and sophomore Laura Rycek (Northamton, Pa./Northampton Area) nabbing 127-7 and 125-0 marks, respectively.
Sophomore Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) produced her outdoor personal-best mark (11-11 3/4) for the third time this spring with a tie for first place in the pole vault. In the jumps, Bucknell was led by juniors Stephanie Evans (York, Pa./Central York) and Jennifer Pierce (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands). Pierce leaped to a second-place finish in the long jump (17-11) and Evans moved into sixth-place all-time on Bucknell's performance list with her 38-0 mark in the triple jump.
On the track, the Bison women had a strong showing in the 4x100 relay, where they grabbed the third-best time ever at Bucknell with their sixth-place finish. With their 48.24 clocking, Evans and Pierce were joined by fellow junior Kristin Steele (Shiremanstown, Pa./Trinity) and freshman Christina Muccio (Andover, Mass./Andover) for the fastest time Bucknell has produced in five years.
The Bison will be back in competition Friday, May 2, at the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships in West Point, N.Y.
