Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Track & Field Scheduled for Full Week at Penn Relays, Bloomsburg Meet
4/25/2012 8:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field
April 25, 2012
LEWISBURG, Pa. - In the last weekend before the postseason officially gets underway, Bucknell track and field will split squads between the Penn Relays and Bloomsburg's Maroon & Gold Invitational this weekend. The Bison will open in Philadelphia at historic Franklin Field on Thursday with the Penn Relays running through Saturday, while the meet at Bloomsburg is a one-day affair on Friday. Complete schedules and live results for the Penn Relays are available at ThePennRelays.com.
BUCKNELL AT THE PENN RELAYS
Thursday, April 26
2:15 p.m. - Women's Eastern Shot Put (Sarah Bella)
3:15 p.m. - Women's College Javelin (Tayler Siegrist)
4 p.m. - Women's College Discus (Rebecca Misko, Abby Monaghan)
8:30 p.m. - Women's College 3,000 (Emily Liggett)
Friday, April 27
11:15 a.m. - Men's College Discus (Luke Webster), Men's Eastern Shot Put (Tom Barr, Stephen Koullias, Quinten Marcott)
5:25 p.m. - Men's Wetzler 4x400 (Justin Hicks, Jordan Donaldson, Dan Mularz, Robert Arent)
Saturday, April 28
11 a.m. - Men's Championship Hammer (Leonard Joseph)
12:15 p.m. - Men's College Hammer (Tom Barr)
12:30 p.m. - Men's College Javelin (Laddie Trees)
SPRINTS/HURDLES
- The Bison female hurdlers saw some success from both the veterans and the up-and-comers at last weekend's Bucknell Team Challenge. Taylor Funk (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) won the 100 hurdles (14.75), but her top performance might have been in the 400 hurdles. The senior crossed the line in 1:02.43, giving her the third-fastest time in Bucknell history. Chelsea Lodato (Matawan, N.J./Old Bridge), who began racing the hurdles for the first time this spring, has improved her time at the 400-meter distance in each competition so far. The sophomore began the season with a time 1:09.07 at the Towson Invitational and has since lowered that to 1:05.85 last weekend, good for seventh place at the Team Challenge.
- Christian Lupica (Newtown, Pa./Holy Ghost Prep) was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week for the first time this spring on Monday. The freshman, who was also the top rookie three times during the indoor season, won the 110 hurdles and ran the second leg of the winning 4x100 relay last week.
- Lupica and Justin Hicks (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School) were two of three Bison men to win more than one event. Hicks, who was also on the 4x100 relay, won the 100 meters in 10.96. He later placed second in the 200 with a season-best 21.78 time, which qualifies him for the IC4A Championships next month.
- Bucknell saw some success in the 4x100 at last year's Penn Relays. After running one of the best times in program history in the prelims, the quartet of Marlon Woods, Hicks, Kamal Riley and Isaih Bell finished fifth in the finals with an even better time of 41.59 seconds. They now rank fourth in program history.
- Hicks, along with Jordan Donaldson (Saxton, Pa./Tussey Mountain), Dan Mularz (Englishtown, N.J./Freehold Township) and Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) will compete in the 4x400 at this year's Penn Relays.
MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
- The 800 meters continues to be a strong distance for the Bison on both the men's and the women's sides. Hana Casalnova (Grove City, Pa./Grove City), Beth Braunegg (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock Twp.) and Caroline Tolli (Lockport, Pa./Lockport) combined for quite the race last weekend. In addition to placing 1-2-3 at the Team Challenge, they also recorded three of the top six times in program annals. Casalnova finished in 2:10.70 (third all-time), Braunegg in 2:11.74 (fifth) and Tolli in 2:12.02 (sixth).
- While the top-10 time in the 800 was the first of Braunegg's outdoor career, Casalnova and Tolli are no strangers to the ledger. Both have three new top-10 marks this season alone, as does Emily Liggett (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Lawrenceville School (N.J.)). Casalnova's and Tolli's marks have come in the 800 meters, 1,500 meters and distance medley relay. Liggett's are in the 1,500 meters, 5K and distance medley.
- Donaldson and Alex Jagelsky (Rutland, Mass./Wachusett) took the top two spots in the men's 800 last weekend. Although he placed second to his veteran teammate, Jagelsky might have made the bigger splash. The rookie clocked in at 1:52.60, allowing him to crack the top 10 in the event. Jagelsky also ran leadoff on the winning 4x800 relay along with Andrew Garcia-Garrison (Detroit, Mich./Catholic Central), Dennis Logan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and Chris Oesterlin (Nahant, Mass./St. John's Prep).
- Dave Brown (Westborough, Mass./Westborough) won his second individual race of the spring by taking gold in the 3,000 meters (8:31.69) last weekend. Brown also won the 1,500 at the season-opening Towson Invitational.
- Liggett will represent the Bison in the longer distances at the Penn Relays this weekend. The senior will compete in the 3,000 meters on Thursday night. She has yet to compete at that distance yet this spring. Her career best in the 3,000 (9:58.10) came at last year's Bucknell Team Challenge and gave her the fourth-best mark in program history.
- Liggett and Casalnova both competed as part of the distance medley relay at the 2011 Penn Relays. The squad placed third in their race in a time of 11:46.77. That time was second in program history at the time but has since dropped to third on the list.
THROWS
- With the continued success of the throws unit, it is no surprise that throwers will represent most of the Bucknell competitors at the Penn Relays. Ten different Bison will make the trip to Philadelphia to compete in the hammer throw, shot put, discus and javelin.
- Abby Monaghan (La Plata, Md./La Plata) and Rebecca Misko (Morristown, N.J./Madison) will both test themselves in the college discus on Thursday afternoon. The duo went 1-2 in the event at the Bucknell Team Challenge. Monaghan's 151-9 was a personal best, gave her the fourth-best throw in program history and put her over the 150-foot mark for the first time in her career. Misko's 150-5 was her top mark of the season and put her over 150 feet for the first time this spring.
- Misko and Monaghan have finished 1-2 in the discus in two meets this spring. Misko edged out her teammate at the Towson Invite to start the season. Neither has finished outside the top seven this year.
- Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin) cleared a major hurdle in the javelin last weekend with her throw of 156-6. The mark was 12 feet better than her previous career best and, although it kept her at No. 3 in the program record books, it moved her within nine inches of Beverly Roger's No. 2 mark. Just one of three Bison in program history to throw over 150 feet, Folger currently ranks 11th in the East Region and 31st nationally.
- Tom Barr (Ambler, Pa./La Salle College HS) is the lone Bison entered in two different events at this year's Penn Relays - the shot put and the hammer throw. Not surprisingly, Barr's versatility provided him unparalleled success in multiple events last weekend. The senior registered IC4A-qualifiying marks in all three of his events and even had career bests in the hammer and discus. He is now fifth all-time at Bucknell in the discus (162-3) and eighth in the hammer (182-11).
- Leonard Joseph (Whitesboro, N.Y./Clinton) will also have a turn in the hammer at the Penn Relays for the second straight year. The junior heads into the 2012 edition of the meet with even stronger credentials, however. His 205-4 for the win last weekend moved him up to third all-time at Bucknell and put him less than five feet off the school record of 209-3 set by James Heizman in 1996. Joseph was named the Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week for the second consecutive voting period on Monday.
- Luke Webster (Pataskala, Ohio/Newark Catholic) is just six inches away from the Bucknell record in the discus. The junior, and defending Patriot League champion in the event, threw a personal-best 168-6 last weekend.
JUMPS/POLE VAULT
- Bucknell pole vaulters are attempting to give the throwers a run for their money as one of the team's most dominant event groups this season. On the women's side, Emily Ando (Weston, Conn./Weston) and Autumn Schellenberger (Bethel, Ohio/Bethel Tate) have both set career highs of 11-7 ¾ in recent meets. The duo cleared the same height last weekend, but it was Schellenberger who took the title in a jump-off. It was the first win of the sophomore's career. Both are tied for fifth in the Bucknell record book.
- Kristin Sundy (Chapel Hill, N.C./Durham Academy Upper School) cleared the 11-foot barrier for the first time in her career last Saturday. At 11-1 ¾, she is now tied with fellow freshman Yanelis Mestre (Westborough, Mass./Noble and Grennough) for sixth all-time at Bucknell.
- On the men's side, Nathaniel Witter (Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) cleared a career-best 15-3 at the Team Challenge. His first time at better than 15 feet this spring, the sophomore is now tied for sixth all-time at Bucknell.
- Jason Brown (Plainville, Mass./Bishop Feehan) and Andrew Powell (Charlton, Mass./St. John's Prep) made their own impact in the jumps but in slightly different ways. The duo tied for first place in the high jump last weekend with a clearance of 6-6 ¾. The height was a career high by more than four inches for Brown. Powell was also third in the long jump at 21-9.
- Kevin Keller (Darien, Conn./Darien) and Alex Prieto (Princeton Junction, N.J./West Windsor Plainsboro South) also shared the gold medal in the long jump with a distance of 22-7. It was a career best for both. Keller also became the third of the three Bison to win multiple events at the Team Challenge after helping the 4x100 to victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
Up next for the Bison are the Patriot League Championships May 4-5 in Worcester, Mass. Both the men and the women have a lot of pride on the line. The Bucknell men's squad is looking for its third consecutive outdoor title, while the women are eyeing their fourth.
