Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Men's Track & Field Sweeps Patriot League Awards, Braunegg Named Female Rookie of the Week
2/14/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 14, 2011
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell men's track and field swept the Patriot League weekly awards and Beth Braunegg (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Twp.) helped the Bison women to their fifth consecutive Rookie of the Week honor, the league announced on Monday. Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) was cited as the Patriot League Runner of the Week, Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) was the Field Athlete of the Week, and Chris Sacks (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) picked up another Rookie of the Week award for the men.
Arent's honor is his third of the season. The junior's latest citation came after winning the 60-meter hurdles and taking second in the 200 meters at last weekend's Bucknell Winter Classic. His hurdle time of 8.19 was just three-hundredths of a second off his career best, which ranks second all-time at the university.
Arent later added his name to the program top-10 list in the 200 meters. Competing at that distance for the first time this season, Arent finished in 22.48 seconds to give him the 10th-fastest time in program history. He also qualified for the IC4A Championships in Boston next month. In addition to the 200 meters, Arent has achieved the qualifying standard in the 60-meter hurdles, 400 meters, 500 meters and as a member of the 4x400 relay.
With almost three years in the Orange and Blue, Arent's name appears on the program's top-10 lists 10 different times. Only former teammates Kerry Boyle's and Kevin MacLeod's names can be found more. Both hold 11 marks in the record books.
Joseph earned his fourth Field Athlete of the Week honor after winning the weight throw at the Winter Classic. He now leads all male Patriot League athletes in any category for most weekly awards.
At Saturday's meet, Joseph posted a mark of 57 feet, 5 ¾ inches. The throw was a career best and ranks fifth all-time at Bucknell. The sophomore previously ranked seventh in the event before bettering his best distance by more than eight inches. In seven meets this winter, Joseph has recorded an IC4A-quailfying mark on six occasions.
Despite being a freshman, Sacks is no stranger to the league's weekly awards either, having won the Rookie of the Week honor on Jan. 31 and twice more during cross country season. Most recently, he won the 800 meters at the Bucknell Winter Classic in a time of 2:52.89. The performance ranks ninth in program annals and is the fastest by a Bison since 2004.
Sacks has now qualified for the IC4A Championships in three different events. The newcomer also met the standard in the 1,000 meters and the mile earlier this season.
The Bucknell men's squad has claimed 10 weekly awards from the Patriot League this winter. Lehigh was second as a team with six. Joining Arent, Joseph and Sacks on the Bison's list of winners was Alex Prieto (Princeton Junction, N.J./West Windsor Plainsboro South), who was named the Rookie of the Week on Jan. 10.
Bucknell's women have claimed five awards during the season with all of them coming in the Rookie of the Week category. Braunegg is the latest to add her name to the list following a first-place showing in the 1,000 meters at the Bucknell Winter Classic. Braunegg posted a career-best time of 2:54.75, which ranks sixth in program history and is the fastest 1,000-meter race by a Bucknellian since Christa Sawko broke the record (2:53.90) in 2006.
Braunegg has now qualified for the ECAC Championships in March.
Also earning the title of the league's Female Rookie of the Week during the 2010-11 season were Hana Casalnova (Grove City, Pa./Grove City) on two separate occasions, Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) and Erin Holbrook (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora). Jan. 10 marks the last time a non-Bucknell athlete was named the top newcomer for the Patriot League.
Bucknell hopes last weekend's success continues into its upcoming meet. The Bison will travel to Navy for the Patriot League Championships Feb. 18-20. The women will be defending their title, while the men hope to avenge a second-place finish in 2010 in which they were a slim six-points behind first-place Army.
