Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Track & Field Wraps Up Regular Season with Saturday's Winter Classic
2/11/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 11, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell track and field has one last opportunity to prepare itself for the championship season, and it will make its final push at the Bucknell Winter Classic at Gerhard Fieldhouse on Saturday. Action in the final weekend before the Patriot League Championships gets underway with field events at 9:30 a.m., followed by running events at 11 a.m.
"We have a lot of different missions for this weekend," said head coach Kevin Donner. "We will be resting a few of our top people, others will be just doing one event as a tune-up for (Patriot) Leagues and a few others will be trying to put themselves in a better (heat and flight) position for leagues. We also have others competing in their last indoor meet of the year hoping to get some season and personal bests and set themselves up for a successful outdoor season."
Teams Scheduled to Appear: Carnegie Mellon, Clarion, Elizabethtown, Essex Community College, Gettysburg, Hagerstown Community College, Indiana (Pa.), Juniata, Lock Haven, Millersville, Shippensburg, Towson (women)
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- When Bucknell competed at Yale's Giegengack Invitational last weekend, Jordan Donaldson (Saxton, Pa./Tussey Mountain) used it to set his third consecutive IC4A Championships-qualifying time. The junior finished the 500 meters in 1 minute, 4.43 seconds. That improved on his 1:05.23 in the event at The Armory, which also qualified him for next month's championships. Donaldson also has a qualifying-mark in the 800 (1:55.67 at the Bucknell Heptagonal).
- Including Donaldson, more than a dozen Bison have punched their tickets to the IC4A Championships in 13 different events. The IC4As are scheduled for March 5-6 in Boston, Mass.
- Five Bucknellians posted season-best times at Yale last week. Among them were Donaldson and John Picardo (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton Central) (1:05.12) in the 500 meters, Dustin Horning (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown Area) in the 1,000 meters (2:30.50) and D.J. Krystek (Pitcairn, Pa./Gateway Senior) (8:45.16) and Robert Yamnicky (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) (8:41.72) in the 3,000 meters.
- At last year's unscored Bucknell Winter Classic, the Bison earned 15 individual finishes in the top two. Of those seven golds, only two individuals and all four members of the 4x400 return in 2011.
- Two of Bucknell's more dominant events at the Winter Classic in 2010 were the 3,000 meters and the 60-meter hurdles. Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) and Andrew Huebner placed first and second, respectively, in the long distance race. Andrew Yehl and Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) did the same in the hurdles.
- Five individuals and the 4x400 relay all set program top-10 times at last year's meet. Included on that list was Arent (60H), Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) (weight throw), Zachary Shapiro (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) (shot put) and recent graduate Ryan White (pole vault).
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) might have surprised a few people when she competed at the Giegengack Invitational last Saturday. The junior finished second overall in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:53.65. It was the first time since the Akron Quad last season Fulmer had competed at that distance, and the performance ended up qualifying her for the ECAC Championships and giving her a Bucknell top-10 time. Fulmer now ranks fourth all-time in program annals.
- Fulmer became the latest addition to the list of ECAC Championship qualifiers. She joined Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) (1,000m), Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) (500m), Hana Casalnova (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) (500m, 800m) and the distance medley relay in their travel plans. The ECAC Championships are scheduled for March 5-6 in Boston.
- Emily Liggett (Grosse Point, Mich./Lawrenceville School (N.J.)) was the second Bison to post a program top-10 time at Yale last Saturday. The junior ran 2:57.05 in the 1,000 meters, giving her the ninth-fastest mark at Bucknell. It was the second consecutive week in which Liggett moved into the top 10. She also tied for ninth in the mile (5:01.14) at the Penn State National Invitational on Jan. 29.
- The middle distances were kind to Bucknell last weekend. Erin Holbrook (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) (8:20.63) and Amanda Steinke (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) (2:19.95) both set season-best marks in the 800, while Liggett's 1,000-meter performance was a career-best. At the longer distances, Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) (10:17.73) and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East) (10:12.40) both ran their best 3,000-meter times of 2010-11.
- Holbrook's performance at Yale earned the freshman her first career citation from the Patriot League. The middle-distance runner was named the Patriot League Female Rookie of the Week on Monday after her career-best finish in the 800. Holbrook has steadily improved her 800 time in each of her four races this season.
- Bucknell claimed six first-place finishes at last year's Winter Classic. The 200 meters was a particularly successful race for the Bison as Kalle James-Wintjen, Lindsay Appel and Christina Muccio (Andover, Mass./Andover) swept the top three places. Fulmer and Laura Cundey also took first and second, respectively, in the 1,000.
- The Bison also posted three of the top four marks in the shot put at last year's meet. Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) led the group in second place. Next was Chelsey Musante and Rebecca Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) in third and fourth.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell officially enters its championship season after the Winter Classic. The Bison will head to Navy for the Patriot League Championships Feb. 18-20. At last year's league meet, the women earned a decisive victory with 168 points and defeated the second-place Midshipmen's 96 points. The men's squad was just edged out by Army, finishing second,165-159.
