Bucknell University Athletics
Back at Home, Bison Track & Field Hosts Bucknell Heptagonal on Saturday
1/21/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Jan. 21, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After a strong outing at The Armory last weekend, Bison track and field hopes to keep the success flowing when it returns to Gerhard Fieldhouse to host the Bucknell Heptagonal on Saturday. Even after finishing in the front half of the field last weekend and including a team victory for the men's squad, the Orange and Blue have plenty to shoot for as they hit the midway point of the indoor season. Action at this Saturday's Bucknell Heptagonal kicks off at 10 a.m.
“The Bucknell Heptagonal is our final scored regular-season meet before Patriot Leagues. The meet has a very similar format to our league meet, and we have some very good teams coming in representing the Atlantic 10, Northeast Conference, Colonial Athletic Association and the PSAC,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “All the events have some high quality athletes and it will be a very exciting day here in the fieldhouse.”
Teams Scheduled to Appear: Duquesne, East Stroudsburg, Mount St. Mary's, Shippensburg, Saint Francis (Pa.), Towson (women), Virginia Commonwealth
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Behind eight top-two finishes, the Bucknell men earned a convincing team victory at Saturday Night at The Amory last weekend. As a unit, the Bison finished with 121 points, ahead of second-place Army, which had 96 points.
- Among the event winners last Saturday were Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) in the 400 meters, Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) in the shot put and the 4x400 relay, which included Jacob Eaton-Hall (Elmira, N.Y./Elmira Free Academy), Jordan Donaldson (Saxton, Pa./Tussey Mountain), John Picardo (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton Central) and Arent.
- Arent had quite the outing at The Armory on Saturday. In addition to his victories in the 400 and the 4x400, the junior also took third in the 60-meter hurdles. At the end of the night, Arent also had three IC4A-qualifying marks and two Bucknell top-10 times.
- Two Bison received recognition from the Patriot League on Monday. Arent was named the league's Track Athlete of the Week, while Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) earned Field Athlete of the Week for his second-place finish in the weight throw. Arent and Joseph are the Patriot League's only repeat winners in their respective categories this season.
- Three individuals and the 4x400 relay added to Bucknell's list of IC4A Championship qualifiers last weekend. Arent, who had already met the standard in the 60-meter hurdles, added his name in the 400 meters, while Clayton Smith (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII) and Chris Sacks (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) became first-time qualifiers in the 1,000 meters.
- With his victory in the shot put, Barr has gone undefeated in the event in each of his last two meets after having also won at the Gulden Relays. Including his season debut at the Bison Opener, Barr has not finished lower than third in the shot put this winter.
- At last year's Bucknell Heptagonal, the Bison finished first out of six teams with 222.5 points. Duquesne was a distant second place with 111.5 points. Five Bison earned individual victories with four of them returning this season. Included in that group back for another turn are Arent, who won the 500 with a time of 1:05.28 that still ranks among the program top-10, and Isaih Bell (Stone Mountain, Ga./Clarkston), who won the 60-meter dash. Christopher Boyd (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas Sprigg Wootton) won the 1,000 meters, and Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) took first in the high jump. At the end of the meet, Bucknellians had posted seven IC4A-qualifying marks and six all-time program top-10 marks.
- Recent graduate Kyle Anthony and current sophomore Quinten Marcott (Wayland, Mich./Wayland) were cited by the Patriot League following their performances at the 2010 Bucknell Heptagonal. Anthony was named the Track Athlete of the Week after winning the triple jump and taking second in the long jump, while Marcott was named the Rookie of the Week with a fifth-place finish in the shot put. It was the first award of the season for both athletes.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- The Bucknell women's team took sixth in a field of 14 at The Armory last weekend. Among the squad's top individual performances were second-place finishes from Hana Casalnova (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) in the 800 and the 4x800 relay of Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X), Emily Waksmunski (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll), Kady Weisner (Saint Mary's, Pa./Elk County Catholic) and Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport).
- Casalnova claimed the first Patriot League weekly honor of the year for the women's team when she was named the Rookie of the Week on Monday. The freshman's second-place finish in the 800 came in a time of 2:14.57, which ranks ninth all-time in program history. Casalnova also helped the 4x400 relay to an eighth-place finish.
- Casalnova was not the only rookie to make a splash last weekend. Classmate Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) broke into the Bucknell top-10 in the 200 and 500 meters. With a 200-meter time of 25.92 seconds and a 500-meter time of 1:16.53, Zymet ranks ninth all-time in both events.
- Bucknell has posted seven program top-10 marks this season, and the additions are being dominated by underclassmen. Of the six new marks in individual events, five of them have come from freshmen and sophomores – sophomore Olivia Massey (Westport, Conn./Staples) in the 60 meters, and freshmen Zymet in the 200 and 500 meters, Casalnova in the 800 meters and Emily Ando (Weston, Conn./Weston) in the pole vault. Zymet and Casalnova were also a part of the sprint medley relay that now ranks fifth all-time at Bucknell, as was sophomore Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover). Senior Kristin Bretscher (Farmingville, N.Y./Centereach), who completed that sprint medley, and junior Taylor Funk (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant Area) in the 60-meter hurdles are the lone veterans to set new top-10 marks this winter.
- Jamie Leacock (Howell, N.J./Howell) had one of her best outings of the year at The Armory last Saturday. The senior tied her career best in the 400 meters with a time of 59.84 seconds and ran a season-best 9.20 in the 60-meter hurdles. Leacock's top hurdle time came last season, and at 9.11 seconds, ranks fourth all-time in program history.
- Funk put up a career-best in the 60-meter hurdles on Saturday as well. Her time of 9.18 seconds keeps her in seventh on the Bucknell top-10 lists.
- Last year's Bucknell Heptagonal ended with the Bison taking second place in the team standings to Shippensburg, 153 to 129.5. Among the event winners were Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) in the shot put, Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) in the pole vault, Lindsay Appel in the 500 and Chelsey Musante in the weight throw. The 4x800 relay of Fulmer, Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional), Tolli and Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Onatrio/St. Mary's) also earned gold.
- After the 2010 Bucknell Heptagonal, Bella and Hornock were both cited by the Patriot League for their performances. Bella's win in the shot put came with a throw of 46 feet, 1 ¼ inches, which still ranks third all-time at Bucknell. She also finished sixth in the weight throw to wrap up her title as the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week. Hornock was the league's Rookie of the Week with third-place finishes in the long jump and 60 meters, as well as a sixth-place performance in the 200.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will split its squad next weekend, competing at the Bison Open & Multi in Gerhard Fieldhouse and the Penn State National Invitational at Ashenfelter Track. Both meets run Jan. 28-29. The men's 4x400 relay has also been invited to compete at the prestigious Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 28.
Bucknell has added a meet to the schedule in February as well. A small contingent of Bison will make the trip to New Haven, Conn., for Yale's Giegengack Invitational on Feb. 5.
