Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Heitzman, Rycek Ready for NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
6/6/2011 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
June 6, 2011
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LEWISBURG, Pa. - For the first time since 2007, Bucknell track and field will be represented at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Junior Ted Heitzman and senior Laura Rycek will both compete in the javelin in Des Moines, Iowa, when the national championships play out at Drake University. The first Bison up, Heitzman will throw at 3:05 p.m. on Wednesday, while Rycek will follow at 3:05 p.m. on Thursday.
Heitzman, who enters Wednesday's competition as the 14th seed, placed sixth at the NCAA East Preliminaries on May 26 in Bloomington, Ind. The native of Elysburg, Pa., sits in the middle of the pack with a throw of 228 feet, 2 inches in the prelims. The 23rd seed in the women's field, Rycek placed 11th in Bloomington with a 152-1 mark.
A top-eight finish in this week's finals will guarantee the throwers First Team All-America honors. Five men and one woman have been named All-Americans in Bucknell program history.
ANOTHER SET OF AWARDS
After placing sixth at the NCAA East Preliminaries two weeks ago and qualifying for the national championships, Ted Heitzman was named the Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week. Despite a season in which the junior set school and Patriot League records in the javelin, it was the first time in Heitzman's career that he was named the Bison Athlete of the Week.
Laura Rycek also has a Susquehanna Valley Limo Bison Athlete of the Week nod on her resume. The senior, who advanced to the national finals in the javelin after placing 11th at the East Preliminaries, received the award on March 28 after winning the javelin with a then-career-best 154-10 and placing third in the shot put at the Towson Invitational.
THROWING STRENGTH
Bucknell sent five athletes to the NCAA East Preliminaries and they were all throwers. That should come as no surprise, however, as the group had been putting up strong performances from the start. Four of the five regional qualifiers recorded what were then season bests in the first meet of the season. Heitzman improved to 221-10 in the men's javelin and Leonard Joseph to 182-1 in the hammer. Rycek came within mere feet of the school record in the women's javelin with a throw of 154-10 and Kat Folger improved her top mark to 143-0. Heitzman, Joseph and Rycek all won their events at the Towson Invitational, while Folger and Tayler Siegrist placed second and third, respectively.
GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCES
Heitzman has competed in eight meets this spring, and the junior won the javelin on four of those occasions. His so-called worst finish came at the NCAA East Preliminaries where he placed sixth. Heitzman's victories came at the Towson Invitational (221-10), Bison Outdoor Classic (237-8), Bucknell Team Challenge (228-5) and Patriot League Championship (232-4) where he set a league meet record and earned First Team All-Patriot League honors.
Like her male counterpart, Rycek also has four javelin wins in eight meets. Her first three victories came at her first three meets of the spring - the Towson Invitational, Colonial Relays and Bison Outdoor Classic. The senior's winning streak ended at the Bucknell Team Challenge where she took second by a mere four inches to her teammate, Folger. Rycek eventually got back in the wins column with a gold medal at the Patriot League Championships.
RYCEK A RUNNER-UP NO MORE
Entering her senior season, Rycek was on a streak of second-bests. In each of her first three seasons with the Orange and Blue, Rycek finished second in the javelin at the Patriot League Championships, first to her teammate Beverly Rogers and then to Lafayette's Allison Tether and Alana Taylor, also of Lafayette. Competition was tight each year until Rycek broke things open a bit with her victory last month.
| 2008: | 1. Beverly Rogers | 146-9 | 2010: | 1. Alana Taylor | 142-1 | ||
| 2. Laura Rycek | 145-6 | 2. Laura Rycek | 140-5 | ||||
| 2009: | 1. Allison Tether | 127-10 | 2011: | 1. Laura Rycek | 158-7 | ||
| 2. Laura Rycek | 127-9 | 2. Alix Membreno | 154-11 |
HEITZMAN NOT A RUNNER-UP EITHER
Heitzman claimed his first career Patriot League title in the javelin this spring, a year after finishing second in 2010. The performance a year ago was not a complete disappointment, however, as Heitzman finished second to then-senior teammate Steven Pierce. Pierce threw a career-best 225-1 at the league meet as his and Heitzman's 1-2 punch helped lead Bucknell to its first team trophy since 1991.
LEAGUE LEADERS
Rycek and Heitzman both were named the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week three times this spring. By winning March 28, April 4, and April 18, Rycek became one of only three female field athletes to be honored at least three times in a single campaign. Lafayette's Ashley Harbin was named Field Athlete of the Week three times in 2006 and four more times in 2008, while Bucknell's Maria Garcia was a three-time winner in 2004.
Heitzman's three honors in a single-season (March 28, April 18, May 2) tied a Patriot League record. He joined Jeff Weaver (2004) of Army and Darryl Hunter (2008) and Mark Van Orden (2009) of Navy as some of the most decorated field athletes in league history. By being named the Patriot League's Field Athlete of the Week three times this spring, Heitzman also claimed half of the possible awards. Leonard Joseph was a field athlete winner on April 25, making the Black Knights' Tom Wagner as the only other recipient this season.
JAVELIN DOMINANCE
Bucknell's women have dominated the javelin in 2011 by winning the event at six of nine meets this spring. Bucknell also took the top four spots at the Towson Invitational, four of the top five at the Bucknell Team Challenge and three of the top four at the Patriot League Championships. The only meets the Bison did not win were the Penn Relays, ECAC Championships and NCAA East Preliminaries.
| Towson Invite | Colonial Relays | Bison Outdoor Classic |
Bucknell Team Challenge |
Bloomsburg Open |
Patriot League Championships |
| 1. Rycek 2. Folger 3. Siegrist 4. Trahan |
1. Rycek |
1. Rycek 4. Siegrist 8. Trahan |
1. Folger 2. Rycek 3. Siegrist 5. Trahan |
1. Trahan
|
1. Rycek 3. Siegrist 4. Folger |
SCOUTING THE FIELD
It's the first career appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships for both Heitzman and Rycek, but several of their opponents will be making repeat efforts. Five of Heitzman's fellow competitors received All-American honors last season, including second-seeded Craig Kinsley, a senior from Brown, who won the national title a year ago and placed third as a sophomore. Washington's Kyle Nielsen, who enters 2011 meet as the man to beat, was fourth in 2009 and third in 2010.
The women's javelin also features five returning All-Americans, including Penn State's Karlee McQuillen, who has placed among the top 12 in each of her first three national championship appearances, and Oklahoma's Brittany Borman, who placed second a year ago as a sophomore. Also in 2010, McQuillen was third, followed by Washington State's Marissa Tschida in fourth. Tschida enters the 2011 competition as the top thrower.
GO WEST
Rycek will face some stiff competition in Thursday's javelin and most of it will be coming from the West. All 12 of the athletes to advance from the West Preliminaries are in the top 13 with Penn State's Karlee McQuillen being the only thrower from the East to crack the top half of the field. Ali Pistora of Kansas State, the West's 13th-place thrower and therefore first non-qualifier, would have placed third with her throw of 161-0 had she been competing in the East Preliminaries.
OTHER CONTENDERS
Rycek and Heitzman weren't the only Bison to compete at the NCAA East Preliminaries. Tayler Siegrist and Kat Folger also contended in the women's javelin, placing 42nd and 45th, respectively. Leonard Joseph made his first regional appearance with a 37th-place finish in the hammer.
FALLEN RECORDS
Heitzman and Rycek both set the Bucknell javelin records this spring. Heitzman reset the mark at 237-8 at the Bison Outdoor Classic, while Rycek's record-breaking performance came with a 158-7 at the Patriot League Championships.
The two javelin throwers were not the only Bison to rewrite the record books, however. While several athletes added their name to or improved their position on the top-10 lists, only six set school records, including:
| Robert Arent | Men's 110m Hurdles | 14.32 |
| M. Woods, J. Hicks, K. Riley, I. Bell |
Men's 4x100 | 40.95 |
| Ted Heitzman | Men's Javelin | 237-8 |
| Sarah Moniz | Women's 5,000m | 16:56.23 |
| J. Zymet, T. Funk, C. Muccio, S. Hornock |
Women's 4x100 | 47.70 |
| Laura Rycek | Women's Javelin | 158-7 |
ALL-AMERICAN STATUS
Bucknell has had six All-Americans in outdoor track and field in program history - five men and one woman. Thomas McLean received honors three times in his career (1975-77), making him Bucknell's only multi-year recipient. The lone woman to be named an All-American was Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame member Lonnie Fertik in the heptathlon in 1982. No Bison has claimed the title of All-American since Jim Heizman in the 1996 hammer throw.
Heitzman and Rycek will have plenty of work to do to add their name to the list of Bucknell's All-Americans. In order to earn first-team honors, they must finish among the top eight in their respective events. Athletes who place ninth through 16th will be named to the second team, and 17th through 24th place will be named Honorable Mention.
PATRIOT LEAGUE ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
The Patriot League will be represented by three student-athletes at this week's national championship meet. While Rycek is the only female athlete from the league making the trip, Heitzman is joined on the men's side by Army's Domonick Sylve in the 110-meter hurdles. Twenty-three athletes from five schools started the quest at the NCAA East Preliminaries in Bloomington, Ind., last month.
BUCKNELL'S NATIONAL TITLE - THOMAS MCLEAN'S WINNING 800M
In 1976, Thomas McLean claimed Bucknell's first and only national title. A junior in 1976, McLean won the 800 meters in his second of three appearances at the NCAA Championships. The native of Orange, N.J., was also third in 1975 and fourth in 1977, earning All-American honors each time. McLean still holds the Bucknell records in the outdoor 400 meters, indoor and outdoor 800 meters and the 1,000 meters.
NATIONAL QUALIFIERS IN THE BUCKNELL ATHLETICS HALL OF FAME
Of the now 11 national qualifiers in Bucknell men's track and field history, seven are members of the Bucknell Athletics Hall of Fame. They include All-American Thomas McLean (inducted 1983), who was the 1976 NCAA outdoor champion and a four-time East Coast Conference champion at 800 meters, All-American George Buckheit (inducted 1986), a two-time ECC cross country champion and an eight-time ECC champion in track and field, and Bob Bickel (inducted 2002), who was three-time ECC track champion and a member of the cross country teams in the 1970s that went a perfect 49-0 in dual competition. Lee Edmonds, another three-time ECC track champion and a national qualifier for the 1978 cross country championships, was also inducted in 2002. Rick Sayre (inducted 1991) was an All-American in the steeplechase and earned All-East recognition six times in his career, while Bill Reifsnyder (inducted 1989), who is considered the finest distance runner in Bucknell history, was a three-time All-American in cross country andled Bucknell to 10 conference championships. Brian Harshman became the group's most recent inductee in 2003 after winning six ECC individual titles and establishing himself as one of only two runners in program history to run the 5,000 meters in under 14 minutes.
QUALIFYING TRENDS
There hasn't been a lot of variety in Bucknell's national qualifiers over the years. Of the 11 qualifiers on the men's side, Jim Heizman (1996, hammer) and Ted Heitzman are the only two field athletes with the other nine being distance runners. All three of the women's qualifiers - Melanie Buczko (pole vault), Maria Garcia (hammer), Laura Rycek (javelin) - advanced in field events.
