Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Track & Field Opens Patriot League Championships at Army Friday
2/17/2010 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 17, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell track and field has finally reached the meet it has been waiting for all season as it competes at the Patriot League Championships Feb. 19-21 in West Point, N.Y. Both Bison squads finished in the runner-up position a year ago, and they are eager to reclaim a spot in the winner's circle.
Competition begins Friday with the start of the men's heptathlon at noon. The women's pentathlon will also be competed on Friday, beginning at 12:15 p.m. Saturday's action begins with field events at 11 a.m. and running at 1 p.m. The meet concludes on Sunday with field events getting underway at 10 a.m. and running at 12 p.m. A complete schedule of events can be found at PatriotLeague.org.
The Bucknell women's team was picked first in the Patriot League Preseason Poll back in January, while the men's squad was voted third. Both will try to hold off the service academies, which have proved to be their toughest competitors in recent years. Navy pulled off an upset at last year's women's championships, taking first place over the Bison by a mere nine points. The men will have their hands full again as they split first-place Army and third-place Navy in the championship meet last season, but the Black Knights and Midshipmen were voted to the top two spots in the league's latest preseason poll.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell closed out the regular season with a Patriot League/M-F Athletic Rookie of the Week honor on Tuesday. Justin Hicks (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School) earned his third top rookie award of the season. Hicks placed second overall and was the first collegiate finisher in the 60 meters at the Bucknell Winter Classic last Saturday in a time of 6.92 seconds. Hicks, Robert Yamnicky (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) and Quinten Marcott (Wayland, Mich./Wayland) have combined to take five of the league's seven Male Rookie of the Week citations this indoor season.
- The Bison remain ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) regional poll. Bucknell is seventh in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Navy recently dropped out of the top-seven, making Bucknell the only team in the Patriot League to be included in the USTFCCCA's regional ranking.
- Bucknell has several athletes to watch as they head to Army for the Patriot League Championships. Among them are Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central), a two-time league indoor triple jump champion. Anthony started his season with four consecutive victories in the triple jump and ended his regular season with a win in the long jump. Other athletes to watch in the field events include Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) and Timothy Medlock (Evan Mills, N.Y./Indian River). Fitzgerald has continued his success in the jumps throughout the season, while Medlock has remained dominant in the shot put. Both are defending league titles, as Fitzgerald won the high jump and Medlock was victorious in the shot a year ago.
- Bucknell fans will have to keep from blinking if they want to see some of the top Bison on the track. Bucknell has three of the best sprinters in program history in Marlon Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods), Isaih Bell (Stone Mountain, Ga./Clarkston) and Hicks. The trio owns the university's three fastest 60-meter times in history. The Bison's 4x400 and distance medley relays have also come on strong at the end of the season. Both units qualified for the IC4A Championships in recent meets. Heptathlete Ryan White (Elkins Park, Pa./Father Judge) is also one to keep an eye on. In his final season in the Orange and Blue, White has twice finished in the top three and qualified for the IC4As in the heptathlon, and set program top-10 marks in the 60-meter hurdles and pole vault.
- Bucknell saw some of its greatest success at the 2009 Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships in the field events. Not only did Fitzgerald earn Field Performer of the Meet after winning the high jump and finishing second in the pole vault, but the Bison also took titles in the shot put triple jump. Andrew Yehl (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) also won the 60-meter hurdles. As a team, the Bison finished second as a team for the second consecutive season and the 10th time in 19 years. The last time Bucknell won the team title came in 1993.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Bucknell continued to dominate in the Patriot League weekly awards on Tuesday. The women swept the honors as Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) won the Field Athlete of the Week, Chelsey Musante (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) was named Field Athlete of the Week and Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) was voted Rookie of the Week. Fulmer and Tolli won the 1000 and 800 meters, respectively, at last weekend's Bucknell Winter Classic, while Musante finished first in the weight throw and third in the shot put.
- Like the men's squad, the Bucknell women have several athletes to keep an eye on at this year's championship meet. Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) is defending her pole vault title and is in position to continue her reign atop the podium despite still looking to surpass the 12-foot mark this season. Musante and Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) have continued as the Bison's 1-2 punch in the throws. Both rank in the top three in Bucknell history in the shot put, and both placed in the top four in the event at last year's championships.
- Fulmer and Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover) should headline a long list of Bison standouts on the track. Fulmer posted the best finish of the season last weekend, winning the 1000 meters in a time of 2:54.81, which ranks sixth all-time at Bucknell. Hornock, a three-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week, also has her name on the program's record ledger, ranking fourth all-time in the 60 meters. The freshman has also shined in the 200 and long jump this season. Lindsay Appel (Wexford, Pa./North Alleghany) and Jennifer Pierce (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands) also return with an indoor title to their names. Both were members of last year's winning 4x400 relay.
- Bucknell narrowly missed its eighth straight team title last year despite winning five events. Frey (pole vault), Fulmer (mile), Musante (weight throw) and Megan Hathaway (500 meters) all came away victorious, as did the 4x400 relay. The Bison did not shy away from individual honors either, as Hathaway set the Bucknell record in the 500, Musante earned Co-Field Performer of the Meet and Fulmer was selected Rookie of the Meet.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will wrap up its indoor season with the ECAC and IC4A Championships in Boston, Mass., on March 6-7. On the men's side, 15 individuals and two relays have qualified for IC4As in at least one event, while six women have qualified for the ECACs.
