Bucknell University Athletics
Boyle Focused on Helping to Lead His Team to a Patriot League Title in 2009
4/6/2009 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 6, 2009
By Becky Hart, Bucknell Athletic Communications
It has been a long process for Kerry Boyle, a senior sprinter for the Bucknell men's track and field team. Whether he has been helping to put the Bison back among the Patriot League leaders on the track or adjusting to the academic atmosphere at Bucknell University, Boyle has attacked that process with an intense work ethic and sense of dedication.
When Boyle arrived at Bucknell as a freshman, he and current co-captain Kevin MacLeod saw an opportunity to move their team up the league ranks. The Orange and Blue had finished in sixth place in both the indoor and outdoor Patriot League Championships in 2005.
"Kevin and I came into this program as freshmen and the team was struggling. We thought that by example, we could bring our team up, even during our freshman year," says Boyle. "We've just been following through with that every year by winning, practicing hard, dedication. We put a lot of time into it. We take care of ourselves the best we can."
Bucknell repeated with a pair of sixth-place team finishes in the 2006 Championship meets, although it narrowed the scoring gap significantly between it and the fifth-place teams. The squad came within a single point of the fifth-place Lafayette in Boyle's indoor campaign, compared to a 14-point loss in the previous season's meet. During the outdoor season, the difference shrunk from 14 points in 2005 to 6.5 a year later.
Despite finishing second in the 500-meter run at the 2006 Indoor Championships, Boyle's goal of improving the team's standing in the Patriot League had yet to be realized. It did not take long, however, for the runner to really make his mark. The following season, Boyle, who is also one of the Bison's three captains this year along with MacLeod and Kyle Anthony, took the individual title in both the 200 and 400 at the Patriot League Indoor Championships and helped improve the team finish to third. His success continued throughout the outdoor track season as well, as he set a school record in his 200 preliminary heat with a time of 21.24 and placed second in the 400 final at the league's outdoor meet. That year, Bucknell saw its team finish rocket to second place, its highest since the Bison finished second from the 1998 through 2003 seasons.
Boyle's fondest memory of his time at Bucknell wouldn't come until the 2008 indoor season, however. Then a junior, Boyle brought in a number of victories leading up to the league championship meet, including a first-place finish in the 400 meters at the Bucknell Heptagonal. He also broke the school record in the 400 with a time of 47.56, which was good for third at the Penn State National Invitational.
None of those races compare in Boyle's mind to the team's performance in Gerhard Fieldhouse when Bucknell hosted the Patriot League Indoor Championships that winter. The Bison swept the 400 final with Boyle taking the title in 48.76 and teammates Guy Castranova and MacLeod finishing in second and third, respectively.
"My absolute favorite memory was taking 1-2-3 in the 400," Boyle beams. "I think every alum who was here would know that. The place was electric, it was absolutely amazing, people were jumping up and down. It was louder than I've ever heard it. I just thought it was great. I was so happy."
With the exhilaration of the race still fresh in his mind, Boyle has moved on to setting goals for the 2009 seasons. Helping the Bison to consistently beat Army and Navy, and bringing home a team title are top priorities as he enters his final season in the Orange and Blue.
"We're going to go for it. And we're going to hit them hard. We're not only looking to beat Army and Navy, we're looking to, as Coach (Kevin) Donner says, `Put the nail in the coffin.' We're looking to hammer it in and really show them that it's over for them."
Boyle is taking his role as co-captain very seriously as a means of ensuring his team's success.
"As a captain, I'm just there to get everybody to communicate, bring us together as a team and to solve discrepancies. Outside of that it's just rallying the team and getting ready for championships, keeping everybody focused, which is a big thing this year," Boyle explains. "Our team, at least, sees us as the team to get. We're it and we're number one this year. They're going to be chasing us. That's a big thing that we're trying to show as captains because we've been taking a beating from Army and Navy every year. We've beaten Army. We've beaten Navy. We've never beat both of them together. This year we have one of the strongest recruiting classes in the league. We have just an amazing team. We didn't lose many points (from last year), and Navy lost over 100 points. Army lost some of their big sprinters, which is one of our strongest areas."
In terms of personal goals, the sprinter has his eyes on acquiring some new school records. In addition to his 200 outdoor and 400 indoor records, Boyle already tops the list of times in the indoor 300 and 4x400 and sprint medley relays. He also ranks among the top six in six other events, including the indoor 500, 200 and 60, and the outdoor 400, 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay.
Next on his list are the 400 outdoor and 200 indoor, both of which he sees as being very obtainable. He and sprints coach, Danielle Hobson-Lynch, have been working to revamp his training regime in an effort to knock off the time necessary to achieve that goal.
"My favorite event is the 400 dash. Thomas McLean has it at 46-something," says Boyle of McLean's 46.84 record set in 1976. "I've been pretty close. I'd really like to get that one."
Despite having less-than-outstanding races indoor at the 200-meter distance, Boyle sees claiming that record as a strong possibility, partly because of the banked track the Bison will be racing on at the championship meet.
"I've never really had a good indoor race because we've been on flat tracks every year, but this year the league meet is on a banked track," Boyle says. "I really think my 200 time is going to drop a lot indoor this year because I'll be on a banked track."
Even with the recognition that comes with having his name in the record books, Boyle's real motivation for chasing records is improved competitiveness.
"School records are nice to have. They're just something out there to beat when at times, if there's no competition or there's nobody ahead of you in the league, it's something to shoot for," said Boyle. "And of course, it's just a great feeling to beat some of these guys from the past who have done so well. I'm still chasing them."
While Boyle is chasing records on the track, he will also be pursuing the last of his class credits and acceptance to graduate school. A mathematics major, Boyle is looking to continue is studies in bio statistics, a relatively new and small field of statistics used in biology and medical research.
"It's the statistics behind either research in the biology area or medical drug approval," says Boyle. "It just seems like it would be rewarding work because you can change what happens. You might be able to be part of the approval of a great drug that really helps people. I think that would be most likely what I would want to do."
Prior to enrolling at Bucknell, biostatistics may not have been a field Boyle planned on entering, but the university prepared him with the needed skills to succeed in the growing field.
"I definitely think I took a lot out of the education side of things. I learned a lot here. That's probably the best thing I took out of my time here," said Boyle despite having to adjust to the challenges of a school with such a strong academic reputation. "It was a big difference from high school to here. It really took my work ethic outside of sports up."
Bucknell was not initially on Boyle's radar before he began looking at universities while still in high school, but encouragement from alumni such as former thrower, Laura Schaffer, who is was also a graduate of Boyle's Hazelton Area High School, sparked his interest in becoming a Bison. After visiting the university and learning about the opportunities he would have as an athlete, Boyle was ready to sign on.
"There were actually a lot of influences right near the time when I was picking colleges. A lot of these people came by and were like, `Bucknell.' I don't know if I'd ever heard of it before then. She (Schaffer) introduced me to it," explains Boyle. "Also, on my trip here, it was basically what I was looking for. It was a small school. I was choosing between here and Penn State. The track coaches had interest in me here."
As he looks toward his final few months as a Bison, Boyle hopes to leave his teammates the tools he used to find success at Bucknell both on and off the track and the qualities necessary to continue their winning ways.
"I would like to pass on my work ethic and dedication," says Boyle. "That would be the best thing I could have people remember that would help them. If they put in the time, they'll see the results. If they do what the coach says, they'll see the results."
Boyle has obviously been taking his own advice, as Bison fans have easily seen his successful results on the track. And with Boyle's collegiate career not yet completed, they will have plenty of opportunities to see even more great things from one of Bucknell's fastest men.
Note: This story appeared in the Winter/Spring issue of the Bison Roundup alumni magazine.
