Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell Women's Track Places Four on Academic All-Patriot League Team
2/26/2013 7:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 26, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell women's track and field was the team to beat at the conference championships and is now the top squad in the classroom as well as the Bison placed four on the Academic All-Patriot League team on Tuesday. Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport), Olivia Massey (Westport, Conn./Staples), Emily Waksmunski (Carrolltown, Pa./Bishop Carroll) and Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) were all recognized for their success both athletically and academically.
Bucknell's four selections in 2013 were a league high. Navy was the only other squad with multiple honorees, totaling two.
The Academic All-Patriot League Team was added for all sports to honor additional student-athletes who excel both on and off the track. The women's track & field team has 10 student-athletes. Student-athletes must have at least a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average and play an integral part in the team's success. Award winners are determined by a vote of the league's sports information directors who cannot vote for their own athletes.
One of the most decorated Bison academically, Tolli earned her third indoor track and field Academic All-Patriot League Team citation and her fifth overall including honors from cross country and outdoor track campaigns. The senior, who has a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA while majoring in education and Spanish and working toward a minor in Latin American studies, is one of just two female athletes to be named to the indoor academic squad all three years of its existence. She is joined by Navy's Brigid Bryne in the distinction.
Tolli's list of academic accomplishments also includes being named the Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year in both indoor and outdoor track last season. She is also a two-time Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District selection. In the community, Tolli spent the summer of 2012 interning with Big Brothers/Big Sisters in her hometown. A member of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, she also worked at a homeless shelter with the organization in Lancaster, Pa.
On the track, Tolli collected her second career individual indoor Patriot League title when she won the mile at the league meet earlier this month. She also placed second in the 1,000 meters and as the anchor leg of the 4x800 relay. Earlier in the season, Tolli became the Bucknell record holder in the 1,000 (2:50.88). She also inked the fourth-fastest time in program history in the 800 (2:13.17) and the eighth-fastest in the 3,000 (9:56.58) and was on relays that broke the top 10 in the 4x800 and distance medley. Tolli was honored during the season with a Patriot League Track Athlete of the Month honor and two titles as the Bison Athlete of the Week.
Waksmunski became Bucknell's other multi-season winner on Tuesday. The junior now has three total Academic All-Patriot League Team citations, two of which have come during indoor track. With her 4.0 GPA during the fall semester, Waksmunski's cumulative average now stands at 3.93 as a civil engineering major. Her success has also earned her four selections to both the Bucknell Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Waksmunski is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and Society of Women Engineers.
Waksmunski helped Bucknell's 4x800 and distance medley relays to a pair of second-place finishes at the Patriot League Championships. Her effort in the 4x800 helped the team to the eighth-fastest time in program history (9:04.07) and earned her the first All-Patriot League honor of her indoor career. Now in her third season in the Orange & Blue, Waksmunski holds pieces of at least two program top-10 times in both the indoor and outdoor 4x800.
Massey and Zymet were both first-time honorees for the Academic All-Patriot League Team. With her 4.0 GPA during the fall semester, Massey now has a 3.60 for her academic career while majoring in psychology. She is a five-time member of the Bucknell Dean's List and has twice been named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.
Massey moved to the top of Bucknell's lineup in the jumps this winter. The senior won the long jump at the Patriot League Championships, tying her career-best mark of 18-6 ½, which also ranks sixth in program history. Her personal record in the triple jump also came at the league meet, where she was eighth with a distance of 36-3. The long jump title was the first of her career and earned her First Team All-Patriot League accolades.
Zymet earned her own Patriot League title, winning the 500 in 1:16.45 at West Point. The junior was also second as a member of the 4x400 and fourth in the 200 meters with a season-best time of 25.37. Earlier this season Zymet broke the school record in the 300 meters, clocking in at 40.65 at the Bison Opener. She also set program top-10 times in the distance medley relay, 400 meters and 4x400.
Off the track, Zymet has a 3.45 GPA while majoring in psychology and education. She has twice been named to the Bucknell Dean's List and Patriot League Academic Honor Roll. Zymet has also served as the team's representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Bucknell's four honorees were each integral to the team's success at the Patriot League Championships. The Bison claimed their second consecutive league title and their 15th in program history.
The Bison will compete in their final meet of the indoor campaign March 2-3 at the ECAC Championships in Boston, Mass. The team's outdoor season gets underway March 30 at the UMBC Invitational.
Women's Indoor Track & Field Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Lisa Junta, Army
Women's Indoor Track & Field Academic All-Patriot League Team
Lisa Junta, Army
Olivia Massey, Bucknell
Caroline Tolli, Bucknell
Emily Waksmunski, Bucknell
Jennifer Zymet, Bucknell
Sarah Dahlstrom, Holy Cross
Elise Buffinton, Lafayette
Lauren Pietrosh, Lehigh
Annie-Norah Beveridge, Navy
Brigid Byrne, Navy
