Bucknell University
Colonial Relays
Bucknell Men's Track & Field Wins Colonial Relays, Women Finish Third
4/2/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 2, 2011
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Bucknell men's track and field showed off its depth by winning the William & Mary Colonial Relays and the women's squad placed third as competition came to a close on Saturday at Zable Stadium. The men dominated in the team standings with 129.9 points, bettering second place by nearly 56 points. Among the individual winners for the Bison were Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) and the men's sprint medley relay.
The Bucknell men's team put at least one athlete among the scorers in 15 of the 26 events, and five times the Bison had three scorers in a single event. Not including relays, 17 different Bison tallied points. With a final score of 129.9, Bucknell topped 36 other teams, including second-place Temple, which finished with 74.2 points. Villanova (60), Virginia Tech (55) and Rutgers (53.2) rounded out the top five.
Bucknell's place in the women's standings was also a product of an all-around effort. The Orange and Blue tallied 59 points to come in just behind Villanova (116.2) and Duquesne (62) in a field of 40 teams.
"It was a great weekend for our ladies. I am sensing that they are starting to jell as a team and developing an identity," said head coach Kevin Donner following the meet. "The performances were very solid across the board, and we are definitely a much stronger outdoor team than we were during the indoor season."
Adding to the men's team's point total was a victory in the 110-meter hurdles for Arent. The junior went into the finals with the top preliminary time, and he bettered that to 14.58 seconds on Saturday. The mark was just .13 seconds off his career best, which ranks third all-time at Bucknell.
Along with his fourth-place finish in Friday's 400-meter hurdle race and his role in the Bucknell relays, Arent proved to be one of the Bison's top point-scorers, tallying more than 20 over the course of the weekend.
The sprint medley relay also contributed greatly to the men's title. The quartet bested the competition with a time of 3:28.15.
Bucknell's field events picked up where they left off on Friday. Luke Webster (Pataskala, Ohio/Newark Catholic) placed fourth in the discus, posting a career-best mark of 154 feet, 1 inch. Just behind him was Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle HS), who by placing fifth (150-9) scored in his third event of the meet. Bucknell totaled 56 points in the four throws events during the weekend.
"The Colonial Relays is a meet of attrition, and our men showed a lot of balance and depth in all the event areas to win such a large meet," said Donner. "I was especially pleased with our throwers how score a bundle of points."
Among the highlights on the women's side were a number of career-best marks that ranked among the program's best. Emily Ando (Weston, Conn./Weston), Autumn Schellenberger (Bethel, Ohio/Bethel Tate) and Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) each cleared 10-8 in the pole vault, tying for ninth at the meet. Ando and Schellenberger also moved into a tie for ninth on the Bucknell record list.
The 4x200 and distance medley relays also put up two of the fastest times in program annals. The 4x200 crossed the line in 1:45.70, while the distance medley ran a 12:02.10. Both times rank eighth at Bucknell.
Individually, Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) and Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's) nabbed strong finishes in the 3,000 meters. Moniz was third (10:08.24), followed by Hooper in fifth (10:13.25).
Both Bucknell's men's and women's teams posted their strongest team finish at the Colonial Relays since they started making the trip regularly to Williamsburg three years ago. The men's team's previous high standing had been third in 2009, while the women were fifth at the same meet.
The Orange and Blue will have a week off before returning to the track for their home opener. Bucknell will host the Bison Outdoor Classic April 15-16 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
