Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Bloomsburg Invitational
Bucknell Women's Track & Field Strong in Final Tune-Up Before Hosting Patriot League Championships
4/24/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 24, 2010
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's track and field claimed more than a dozen victories and several Bison recorded season-best marks as the squad wrapped up its regular season at the unscored Bloomsburg Invitational on Saturday. Among the Bucknell winners was Laura Rycek, who claimed gold in both the javelin and shot put.
Rycek led the consistently strong group of Bucknell throwers with dual wins on Saturday. Her throw of 130 feet, 11 inches was tops in the javelin, while her mark of 38-7 in the shot put was a season-best. Close behind Rycek in the javelin was Sarah Trahan in second (126-7), and Rebecca Misko was runner-up in the shot (36-2 ¾).
The Bison went 1-2-3 in the hammer, led by Kathryn Wahls (141-8). Abigail Monaghan and Misko completed the group. Misko earned her third top-three finish of the meet in the discus. The sophomore won the event with an ECAC-qualifying mark of 139-5. Monaghan earned a career-best 137-5 in the discus, which earned her second place.
Bucknell was equally dominant on the track, especially in the 800 meters. The Bison took the top four spots in the event. Allison Janda was the first Bucknellian to cross the line, recording a season-best time of 2 minutes, 16.01 seconds. She was not the only one to run her fastest time of the season, however. Caroline Tolli (2:16.89) and Amanda Steinke (2:22.15) also completed the feat.
The hurdles proved to be a strong point as well. Jamie Leacock won the 400 hurdles in 1:04.74, while Bucknell also took second through fourth in the event with the help of Jennifer Pierce, Olivia Kerr and Valerie Sans. Taylor Funk also won the 100 hurdles (15.56).
"I was very pleased with the results," head coach Kevin Donner said. "We had a lot of different goals and expectations depending on the individual as we are focusing on next weekend's league championships. The weather played havoc with it being very windy again. The headwind in the 100,100 hurdles and 200 didn't help our times, but I still like how our athletes competed."
Among the other Bison claiming first place in their respective events was Rebecca Frey in the pole vault, Olivia Massey in the long jump, Sasha Hornock in the 100 meters and Lindsay Appel in the 200. At the longer distances, Emily Liggett won the 1500, while Melissa Smith was the victor in the 3000.
Bucknell's next meet will be one of the biggest of the season as it hosts the Patriot League Championships at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium April 30-May 1.
