Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Track & Field Completes Home Schedule with Bucknell Team Challenge Saturday
4/22/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 22, 2011
Bucknell Team Challenge Meet Information
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell track and field will host its final home meet of the season, welcoming six teams to Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for the Bucknell Team Challenge on Saturday. The Bison, which will celebrate Senior Day, are looking to defend their title on the men's side and return to the top of the standings on the women's after placing second a year ago. Action gets underway at 9:30 a.m.
Bucknell will recognize more than 30 veterans from the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams at 11:30 a.m. as part of Senior Day. The squads have combined for 34 All-Patriot League citations and 106 spots on the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. During their four years in the Orange and Blue, the men's and women's teams have also claimed two cross country league titles and five track and field titles.
MEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Ted Heitzman (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) earned his second nod as the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week on Monday. The award followed his record-breaking performance in the javelin at the Bison Outdoor Classic last Friday. The junior posted a mark of 237 feet, 8 inches for the best-ever throw in Bucknell history. Not surprisingly, Heitzman won the event for the second time in three meets this spring.
- Joining Heitzman at the top of the podium at the Bison Outdoor Classic was Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) in the 400 meters, Dan Mularz (Englishtown, N.J./Freehold Township) in the 400 hurdles, Isaih Bell (Stone Mountain, Ga./Clarkston) in the long jump, Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) in the hammer and Jason Brown (Plainview, Mass./Bishop Feehan) in the high jump. The 4x100 relay also won.
- Arent's victory in the 400 meters was his second straight at the Bison Outdoor Classic. He also won the event last year as a sophomore in a time of 52.28 seconds.
- Mularz was one of two Bison to claim a pair of top-five finishes in individual events last weekend. In addition to his win the 400-meter hurdles, the junior was also fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) was fourth in the hammer throw and fifth in the shot put. As a team, Bucknell recorded 23 top-five finishes at the unscored meet.
- Bucknell improved its standing in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Mid-Atlantic Region Poll. The Bison move up one spot to sixth. They trail Princeton, Penn State, Navy, Georgetown and Maryland-Eastern Shore.
- With the championship season on the horizon, the Bison are beginning to make plans for the first round of the NCAA Championship. The top 48 athletes in each event, excluding the multi events, will qualify for the first rounds in their respective regions. At last ranking, Joseph and Heitzman were the only two Bison currently in the top 48. Heitzman is ninth in the East and 14th nationally in the javelin, while Joseph is 41st in the hammer throw. Also in the top 100 are Clayton Smith (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII) and Jordan Donaldson (Saxton, Pa./Tussey Mountain) in the 800 meters, Bell in the long jump, Barr in the shot put, Charles Murphy (Short Hills, N.J./Millburn) in the 10,000 meters and Arent in the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles.
- The Bison won last year's Bucknell Team Challenge by the slimmest of margins - 194.66 points to second-place Penn State's 194.33. The real difference-maker was the 110 hurdles where Andrew Yehl and Arent finished 1-2. Mularz, Sean Coyne and the Nittany Lions' Jonathan Kowal tied for fifth, earning .33 points each.
WOMEN'S NOTEBOOK
- Laura Rycek (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) continued to bring in the awards as the senior was named the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week on Monday after winning the javelin at the Bison Outdoor Classic. It was Rycek's third weekly award this season, making her one of only three field athletes to be honored as often in a single campaign. Lafayette's Ashley Harbin was named Field Athlete of the Week three times in both 2006 and 2008, while Bucknell's Maria Garcia was a three-time winner in 2004. No Patriot League female athlete has ever been named Field Athlete of the Week four times in a single season.
- Rycek remained undefeated this season in the javelin with her mark of 152-3. It was her third Bison Outdoor Classic title in the event. Also winning last weekend was Chelsea Lodato (Matawan, N.J./Old Bridge) in the 800 meters and Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) in the 400.
- Although they totaled just three gold medals, the Bison had plenty of top-five finishes at the Bison Outdoor Classic. The team finished with 22, led by Kristin Bretscher (Farmingville, N.Y./Centereach) and Jamie Leacock (Howell, N.J./Howell). Bretscher was third in the 100, fourth in the 200 and helped the 4x100 to a third-place finish. Leacock placed second in the 400 hurdles and third in the 100 hurdles.
- Bucknell registered five marks that ranked on the program's top-10 lists. Making their first career appearances in the outdoor record books was Abby Monaghan (La Plata, Md./La Plata) and Alysha Hooper (Meaford, Ontario/St. Mary's). Monaghan is now eighth all-time in the discus with her throw of 143-7, while Hooper is sixth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:18.98. Improving their standings in the steeplechase were Leah Goeke (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) and Kelly Grosskurth (Huntington Station, N.Y./Half Hallow Hills East), who are now fourth and fifth, respectively. Rebecca Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) jumped up to third all-time in the discus.
- Misko and Grosskurth seem to really enjoy the Bison Outdoor Classic having posted some of the best marks of their career at the home meet. At last season's meet, Misko threw 147-1 in the discus, which had been her career best until last weekend. Grosskurth ran 11:28.4 in the steeplechase at the 2010 meet, setting a top-10 mark. She ran exactly 10 seconds faster this season for 11:18.40 and a new top-10 time.
- Bucknell has started to keep an eye on potential qualifiers for the NCAA Championships. The top 48 athletes in each event will qualify for the first rounds in their respective regions. At last ranking, Rycek and Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin) were both among the qualifiers in the javelin. Rycek is 10th in the East and 30th nationally, while Folger is 42nd in the region. Also in the top 100 are Sarah Moniz (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet Regional) in the 5,000 meters, Alaina Chodoff (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and Melissa Smith (Mercer, Pa./Mercer Area) in the 10,000 meters, Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) in the pole vault, Misko in the discus and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) in the javelin.
- Bucknell move back into the top 15 of the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Region Poll this week, jumping eight spots into 13th. Penn State, Villanova, Princeton, West Virginia and Georgetown make up the top five in the region, while Navy is ninth.
- At last year's Bucknell Team Challenge, the Bison placed second out of five teams trailing only Penn State. The 4x800 relay as well as recent graduates Allison Janda and Chelsey Musante claimed gold. Rycek was second in the javelin, while Folger was third.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will split squads again next weekend, traveling to the Penn Relays April 28-30 and the Bloomsburg Maroon and Gold Open on April 30. The meets are the last ones for the Bison before the Patriot League Championship. This year's league meet will be hosted by Lafayette May 6-7 in Easton, Pa.
