Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
NCAA Regional Championships
Bucknell's Heitzman Qualifies for National Track & Field Championships
5/26/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
May 26, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Bucknell track and field did not have to wait long to get its first national qualifier as Ted Heitzman (Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia) finished sixth in the javelin at the NCAA East Preliminaries at Indiana's Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex on Thursday afternoon. Heitzman threw 228 feet, 2 inches to become the first Bison to qualify for the NCAA Track & Field Championships since 2007.
Heitzman is Bucknell's first national qualifier since Matthew Forys advanced to the championships in the steeplechase four years ago. The current Bison junior is also just the second field athlete in program history to advance and the first since Jim Heizman qualified in the hammer throw in 1996.
"I felt pretty comfortable coming into the meet," said Heitzman after punching his ticket for next month's finals in Des Moines, Iowa. "I knew it would take a PR or close to it to lock up a spot. I came close (to a personal record) and everything worked out. I'm looking forward to competing at the national championship."
Heitzman's best throw of his career came at the Bison Outdoor Classic earlier this spring when he set the Bucknell record at 237-8. Earlier this month, the native of Elysburg, Pa., also broke the Patriot League Championship record with a winning mark of 232-4.
Heitzman, who entered Thursday's regional meet seeded 10th among declared athletes, has placed among the top six finishers in all eight of his meets this season. Today's sixth-place finish was just his first time out of the top five this spring.
The NCAA National Championships are scheduled for June 8-11 at Drake University. The Bison hope to add more athletes to the travel party tomorrow as Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) will compete in the hammer at 11 a.m. and Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin), Laura Rycek (Northampton, Pa./Northampton Area) and Tayler Siegrist (Madison, N.J./Madison) will vie for a qualifying spot in the javelin at noon.
