April 28, 2010
In-meet Results
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The moment Bucknell track and field has been waiting for has finally arrived, as the Bison will host the Patriot League Championships Friday and Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Orange and Blue have a lot on the line as they head into their championship season, including a chance at the rare Patriot League Triple Crown on the women's side after winning the league's cross country and indoor track and field titles earlier this year.
Bucknell will welcome American, Army, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh and Navy to Lewisburg to decide the Patriot League's top teams on the outdoor track. Competition on Friday will begin with the women's javelin at 9:30 a.m., while Saturday will get underway at 9 a.m. with the decathlon 110 hurdles. Results will be updated frequently throughout both days at BucknellBison.com.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
Bucknell has maintained its position in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region poll for yet another week. As of April 27, the Bison were ranked eighth in the region.
At last year's Patriot League Championships, Bucknell finished second as a team. Bringing home individual titles were Anthony in the triple jump, Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) in the pole vault, Huebner in the 3000 meter steeplechase and the 4x800 relay.
Ryan White (Elkins Park, Pa./Father Judge) and Thomas Vogler (Oneonta, N.Y./Oneonta) made a formidable pair in the decathlon at the 2009 championship meet. White was second in the multi event, while Vogler was third. Last year's champion from Lehigh graduated after claiming the title, opening the door for the Bison on their home track.
Bucknell showed its ability to step up at big moments last year. The Bison set 25 season-best marks at the championship a year ago.
The last time the Bison won the Patriot League Championship came in 1991.
Bucknell men's track finished its final regular-season weekend on a high note. Starting at the Penn Relays, Andrew Huebner (Hampton Falls, N.H./Gover Dummer Academy) won the 3000 meter steeplechase in a Bucknell top-10 time of 9 minutes 0.79 seconds. The 4x400 relay of Gregory Baxter (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Valley), Dan Mularz (Englishtown, N.J./Freehold Township), Clement Gyan (Yonkers, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln) and Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) finished third. The shuttle hurdle relay also placed well, crossing the line fourth overall. That team was made up of Andrew Yehl (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown), Arent, Andrew Powell (Charlton, Mass./St. John's) and Sean Coyne (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township).
At the Bloomsburg Invitational, the Bison saw success from their veterans as well as their newcomers. While senior Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central) won both the triple jump and the long jump, six others recorded the first victories of their careers. Included on that list was Quinten Marcott (Wayland, Mich./Wayland), who also added his name to the program's top-10 list in the shot put.
Bucknell has shown continuous improvement throughout the year, and several individuals have set career-best marks as well. At least 14 Bison have set personal records in 19 different events this season. Making some of the biggest improvements are Huebner, who has improved his times in the steeplechase and the 1500 meters, Conor McNamara (Baldwin, N.Y./Chaminade) with top times in the 800 and 5000 meters, and Christopher Boyd (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) in the 800 and 1500. Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) (shot put and discus) and Jonathan Lockhart (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) (shot put and hammer throw) have both had career-best marks in the throws events.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
The Bucknell women's squad will be looking to do something this weekend that few teams have done before. The Bison will attempt to complete the Triple Crown - winning the Patriot League title in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track and field in the same season - for the sixth time in program history. Only the 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2005-06 and 2006-07 squads currently hold the distinction.
Bucknell will also be looking to defend its title from a year ago. The Bison won convincingly in 2009, finishing with 188.5 points. Navy was a distant second place with 119 points. The Bucknell women's squad has claimed the outdoor title nine of the last 11 seasons.
At the conclusion of the regular season, the Bison find themselves ranked 13th in the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region poll. That is one place lower than a week ago.
Bucknell won its 11th title in program history a year ago. Several current Bison claimed individual titles, including Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) in the shot put and discus, Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) in the pole vault and Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) in the 1500 meters. Jamie Leacock (Howell, N.J./Howell) also won the 400 hurdles, while Amy Mantush (Drums, Pa./Hazelton) won the high jump and the triple jump. The 4x400 and 4x800 relays also claimed gold.
Mantush and Bella also received two of the major awards following the Bison's team victory last year. Mantush was named the Field Athlete of the Meet, while Bella earned a Rookie of the Meet citation.
Bucknell received some impressive performances on the track at the Penn Relays last week. Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Maconomet Regional) finished second in the 3000 meters in a time of 9:41.15. That ranks her second all-time at Bucknell and is less than one second off the school record pace. Fulmer was 13th in the event with a time of 9:54.30, which ranks third all-time at Bucknell.
Moniz has raced individually in four different events this spring and has set Bucknell top-10 marks in three of them. In addition her most recent showing in the 3000 meters at the Penn Relays, the junior co-captain has also added her name to the record books in the 1500 meters (6th; 4:34.68) and the 5000 meters (4th; 17:16.54).
The Bison also competed at the Bloomsburg Invitational last weekend, earning multiple first-place finishes. More than a dozen Bison claimed gold, while Laura Rycek (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area), Lindsay Appel (Wexford, Pa./North Alleghany) and Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover) each had two wins to their name. Rycek's victories came in the javelin and shot put. Appel won the 200 and Hornock the 100, while both sprinters were a part of the winning 4x100 relay.
Hornock's victory in the 100 meters was the first individual win of her outdoor career. Joining her in the feat were Leah Goeke (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) in the 3000 meter steeplechase, Olivia Massey (Westport, Conn./Staples) in the long jump, Melissa Smith (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area) in the 3000 meters and Kathryn Wahls (Spencerport, N.Y./Brockport) in the hammer throw.
Like the men's team, the women have put up some impressive marks this season. At least 11 Bison have recorded career-bests in 20 different events with the distance runners leading the way. Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East), Fulmer and Moniz have each set career-best marks in the 1500 meters, 3000 meters and 5000 meters.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will next look toward the ECAC and IC4A Championships May 15-16 in Princeton, N.J. Heading into the league championship meet, 13 men, eight women and two relays have qualified for the trip to Princeton.
