Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships
Bucknell Women's Track & Field Takes Triple Crown with Second Straight Patriot League Outdoor Title!
5/1/2010 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
May 1, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's track and field won the Patriot League Championships for the second consecutive year and earned its sixth Triple Crown in program history on Saturday at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison defeated second-place Navy by more than 70 points behind a league-leading six gold medals.
Bucknell finished with 191 points to secure the victory, while the Midshipmen claimed 120 points. With the win, the Bison have been named Patriot League outdoor champions in 10 of the last 12 years. They were also took the Triple Crown with league titles in cross country, indoor track and field, and now outdoor track. That marks the sixth time in program history the women's squad has swept the championships and the first time since 2006-07.
Trailing the Bison and the Mids was Army in third (97 points), Holy Cross in fourth (80) and Lehigh in fifth (73). Colgate and Lafayette tied for sixth (56), while American was eighth (8).
The team trophy was not the only award Bucknell earned on its home track. Chelsey Musante (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) was named the Outstanding Field Athlete of the Meet after winning the shot put and hammer throw, and placing second in the discus. Kevin Donner was also named the Track Coach of the Year on both the men's and women's sides.
"This was probably the best day of my coaching career," said Donner, who also saw his men's team win the Patriot League title for the first time since 1991. "For the women, this never gets old. We worked so hard all year for this moment, and even though we have won a lot of championships, we have never taken a single one for granted. Winning the Triple Crown is a hard thing to do. We are so fortunate to be able to accomplish so much in one year."
After taking gold in the hammer yesterday, Musante returned for her second win of the championships by throwing a personal-best 46 feet, ½ inch in the shot put. The senior already had possession of the second-best throw in Bucknell history, but the mark moved her to within 3 ½ inches of tying the school record.
Musante went on for another personal best, which was her third of the meet after throwing 175-7 in Friday's hammer competition, in the discus. Her throw of 136-10 put her second and just behind teammate and first-time champion Rebecca Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison).
Misko won with a mark of 141-4 to lead a Bison sweep in the discus. Abigail Monaghan (La Plata, Md./La Plata) was third (133-7) as well.
Joining Musante in the team's shot put success was Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham), who placed second (43-1) and Misko in sixth (38-7 ¾). By the end of the meet, Bucknell's throwers had totaled 67 points for the Bison with 28 of them coming from Musante.
Bucknell's third champion of the day came in the triple jump as Casey Krause (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) backed up her indoor title with another winning leap of 37-7 ¼. Similar to the team's other field events, the Bison's jumpers dominated at the triple jump pit. Amy Mantush (Drums, Pa./Hazelton) took second (37-6 ½), while Stephanie Evans (York, Pa./Central York) was fourth (37-4 ¼) and Alexandra Romanelli (Galloway, N.J./Absegami) was sixth (38-7 ¼).
The triple jump was not the only event in which Mantush scored on Saturday. The senior also took second in the high jump, clearing 5-7 to tie her school record. She narrowly missed her second title of the meet. Army's McKenzie Majchrzak cleared the same height as Mantush but moved ahead with fewer misses. Mantush also won the long jump of Friday.
Bucknell's field event athletes were not the only ones to shine on the final day of the championship meet. Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) both scored and set program top-10 marks in their respective distance races. Moniz was second at the meet in the 1500 meters with a time of 4 minutes, 29.63 seconds. That improves her personal best by nearly six seconds and moves her into second all-time at Bucknell.
Grosskurth claimed third in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:25.8, moving her up one position to sixth in the program record books.
The Bison sprinters set top times of their own. Kristin Bretscher (Farmingville, N.Y./Centereach) clocked in at 25.54 seconds in the 200 meters, placing her second overall and putting her 10th on the program's all-time list. The junior was also on the 4x100 relay that placed second with a top-10 time. Bretscher teamed up with Lindsay Appel (Wexford, Pa./North Alleghany), Christina Muccio (Andover, Mass./Andover) and Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover) for a time of 48.42 seconds.
Also standing out on the track was Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) in the 800 meters. A day after helping the 4x800 relay to a title, the freshman claimed third in the solo race with a time of 2:15.90.
The 4x400 relay of Appel, Allison Janda (Plymouth, Mich./Salem), Jamie Leacock (Howell, N.J./Howell) and Jennifer Pierce (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands) was also third (3:52.60).
Joining Musante and Donner by winning Patriot League major awards were Jess Palacio of Navy as the Track Athlete of the Meet and Army's Majchrzak as the Female Rookie of the Meet.
The day began with a ceremony dedicating the new Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium javelin runway. Senior manager of athletics fundraising Tom Harvey presided over the dedication, and he and Donner provided words of appreciation for those that made the runway project possible: Beynon Sports Surfaces, Inc., Chris Van Saders '84, Steve Pierce '10 and family, Zachary Shapiro '11 and family, and Kat Folger '12 and family.
The Bucknell teams christened the new runway with outstanding performances on Friday. Pierce and Ted Heitzman went 1-2 in the men's javelin event, while Laura Rycek and Folger finished 2-3 in the women's competition.
Bucknell will be back in action May 15-16 at the ECAC Championships in Princeton, N.J.
