Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Track & Field Looks to Continue Hot Start at Colonial Relays
3/31/2011 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
March 31, 2011
Additional Information:
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell track and field kicks off three days of competition today at the Colonial Relays in Williamsburg, Va. The Bison will take on a field of 50 squads in the invitational meet at William & Mary as they try to repeat their top-10 team finish from a year ago. Action begins with the hammer throw on Thursday and continues through Saturday with the rest of the events.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- The Bucknell men's squad put up some impressive performances at last weekend's Towson Invitational. Among them was Ted Heitzman's (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) win in the javelin. With a throw of 221 feet, 10 inches, the junior bested the second-place competitor by more than 70 feet. The outing earned Heitzman the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week honor on Monday.
- Also winning at Towson were Isaih Bell (Stone Mountain, Ga./Clarkston) in the 100 meters, Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) in the high jump and Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) in the hammer throw. John Picardo (Rochester, N.Y./Hilton Central) was a gold-medal winner in the 800 meters, as was Chris Sacks (Pound Ridge, N.Y./Fox Lane) in the 1,500 meters, Ian Shore (South Orange, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) in the 5,000 meters and Luke Webster (Pataskala, Ohio/Newark Catholic) in the discus.
- The Bison were dominant in the field events. At least three Bucknellians placed in the top five in the hammer throw, shot put, discus, triple jump, long jump and pole vault. Scott Weismiller (Mahwah, N.J./Don Bosco Prep) and Daniel Markwalter (Vienna, Va./Thomas Jefferson S&T) tied for second place in a group of four Bison among the pole vault leaders. Ian Ferguson (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) was fourth, while John Skovira (Park Ridge, N.J./Park Ridge) was fifth as well.
- Bucknell continued to make a name for itself in the throws. In addition to wins in the javelin, hammer and discus, the Bison also claimed six more top-five finishes in the hammer, shot put and discus. Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle HS) was runner-up in each of those events. Heitzman (javelin), Barr (shot put) and Joseph (hammer) also set IC4A Championship-qualifying marks.
- Bell was the only runner to break 11.00 seconds in the 100 meters at Towson. His 10.98 earned his first place, but younger teammate Justin Hicks (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School) was close behind. The sophomore crossed the line in 11.00 flat, good for second place.
- Sacks and Christopher Boyd (Gaithersburg, Md./Thomas S. Wootton) also registered a close 1-2 finish, but theirs came at a much longer distance. The Bison duo took the top two positions in the 1,500 meters. Sacks edged out his teammate at 4:04.20, while Boyd finished in 4:04.76.
- A total of 18 current Bison find themselves on the program's top-10 lists. Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence), Bell and Jordan Donaldson (Saxton, Pa./Tussey Mountain) lead the group with four top-10 marks each. Seventeen of the squad's record-setting marks were registered in 2010, and three of them were set just last weekend. Among the most recent Bison to make inroads on the program record lists was Heitzman, who remained in fourth all-time with his career-best 221-10 in the javelin. Joseph improved to seventh at Bucknell in the hammer throw with his career-best 182-1, and Barr broke into 10th place in the hammer with a mark of 169-9.
- At last year's Colonial Relays, Bucknell placed ninth in a field of 30 teams. After being in seventh place after day one, the Bison slipped in the standings and ultimately finished with 42.5 points. Rutgers won the meet with 128 points.
- Three Bison set program top-10 marks at William & Mary's meet last season, although all three eventually went on to better those times and distances as the season wore on. Arent ran 53.07 in the 400-meter hurdles. That ranked fourth all-time at Bucknell, but Arent set the school record (51.59) later that spring. Dan Mularz (Englishtown, N.J./Freehold Township) also ran what was then his career-best time in the same event. His 54.41 in the hurdles would have ranked sixth. Mularz is now fifth all-time (53.30). Heitzman's javelin throw of 218-5 was a top-10 mark as well.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- The Towson Invitational ended with five Bison claiming individual victories last weekend. Among them was Laura Rycek (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) who won the javelin with a career-best throw of 154-10. Along with a third-place finish in the shot put, which she earned with another personal best mark (40-6 ¼), the senior was named the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week and the Susquehanna Valley Bison Athlete of the Week.
- Joining Rycek atop the javelin standings at Towson was Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin) and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison). Folger threw 144-0, recording a career best that ranks third all-time at Bucknell. Siegrist was a third-place finisher with a mark of 135-5. The trio now ranks 2-3-4 all-time at Bucknell with Rycek leading the way.
- Siegrist's 135-5 was her best mark since the sophomore made her intercollegiate debut at the Maryland Invitational last spring. A year ago, she threw 139-10 to earn the victory, and that distance still ranks as the fourth-best in program history.
- Also among Bucknell's winners last weekend were Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) in the 1,500 meters and Rebecca Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) in the discus. Emily Ando (Weston, Conn./Weston) and Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) also tied for the lead in the pole vault.
- Nearly getting lost in all of the Bison's activity last weekend was a solid performance from Leah Goeke (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) at the Susquehanna Invitational. The sophomore placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, while her time of 11:26.57 was good for seventh in program annals. Goeke has competed in the steeplechase just three times in her career, winning the Bloomsburg Invitational (11:34.73) and placing seventh at the Patriot League Championships (11:45.8) last season.
- Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) placed herself solidly on the runner-up stand at the Towson Invitational. Competing in her first career outdoor meet, the freshman placed second in the 200 meters (26.16), 400 meters (1:00.04) and as part of the 4x100 relay. She was joined by Taylor Funk (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant Area), Kristin Bretscher (Farmingville, N.Y./Centereach) and Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover) on the relay that crossed the finish line in 49.33 seconds.
- After missing nearly the entire indoor track season, Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) made her return at the Towson Invitational. The senior was third in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:48.27.
- A look at the Bucknell top-10 shows that the lists include the names of 18 current Bison. Moniz and Stephanie Fulmer (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) are the most frequently seen athletes, having inked their names to the record books six time apiece.
- At the 2010 Colonial Relays, Bucknell placed ninth with 42 points in a field of 30 teams. Maryland won the meet with 98 points. Eight Bison recorded career- or season-best marks at the meet. Included among them was Casey Krause (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) whose 38-10 ¼ in the triple jump still ranks fourth all-time at Bucknell.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will host the Bison Outdoor Classic - its first home meet of the outdoor schedule - April 15-16 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
