Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell's Barr, Trees Open Outdoor Track & Field Season with Honors
4/2/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 2, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - One week into the start of the outdoor season and Bucknell men's track and field already has claimed two honors. Laddie Trees (Washington, D.C./Deerfield Academy (Mass.)) was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week after winning the javelin at the Towson Invitational, while Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) earned the title of Susquehanna Valley Limousine Bison Athlete of the Week after setting a school record in the shot put and finishing in the top five in three field events.
Barr won the hammer a personal-best throw of 174 feet, 8 inch. The mark kept him in 10th place in the program record books, but his top mark came in the shot put. The senior threw 54-2 ½, improving on his previous personal best by two feet and giving him the best throw in Bucknell history. Barr capped off his day with a fifth-place finish in the discus at the Towson Invitational, recording a mark of 149-6.
Barr, who finished his winter season by winning a second consecutive Patriot League indoor shot put title and becoming Bucknell's first-ever IC4A field event champion with a victory in the weight throw, now holds the school record in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. The Bison Athlete of the Week honor is his second of the season with the first coming on Feb. 6 after setting the indoor shot record.
Trees claimed a number of firsts with his weekend performance. The freshman won the javelin at Towson with a throw of 207-8. The only thrower to clear 200 feet at the meet, Trees now ranks seventh in program history and has already claimed an IC4A-qualifying mark in the event. The Rookie of the Week accolade is the first of Trees' career.
Bucknell will return to action this weekend when it travels to William & Mary for the Colonial Relays. The meet is set to run April 6-7 in Williamsburg, Va.
