Bucknell University Athletics
Track & Field Closes Home Slate with Bucknell Team Challenge
4/19/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 19, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. – It's a busy time of year for everyone and Bucknell track and field is no different as it will host its annual Team Challenge on Senior Day on Saturday. Events begin at 9:30 a.m., while the team's seniors will be honored at 11:15 a.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison will be looking to extend their winning streaks at the final home meet of the year when they take on squads from Bloomsburg, Duquesne, Lock Haven, Mount St. Mary's, Penn State, Saint Francis (Pa.) and Towson. Live results will be available at BucknellBison.com.
“I really like the format of this meet because it is scored and exposes strengths and weaknesses of each team,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “Although it is a scored meet and of course we want to win, we are also focused on hitting certain standards and setting up our athletes for the league championships in two weeks. Both of our teams seem to be coming around after a slower than usual start to our outdoor season and we are excited to be hosting another high-quality meet. Our seniors will be competing in their last home meet and this will be the last time we have the entire program together all at once as we approach the championship portion of the season.”
Bucknell will recognize more than two dozen seniors for their four-year commitment to the cross country and track and field programs. The Class of 2013 has been at least partly responsible for 10 Patriot League team titles, 21 individual conference titles, more than 30 all-league citations, 13 current school records and even more academic honors.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
- Bucknell won three Patriot League awards on Monday with one going to a sprinter, another to a middle-distance runner and the third a field athlete. The honored sprinter was Justin Hicks, who won the 100, placed second with the 4x100 and took fourth in the 200 at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend. It was Hicks' first Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week honor of his outdoor career.
- Hicks' time of 21.42 in the 200 meters last weekend was the fourth-fastest in program history. Stealing his thunder somewhat, however, was Christian Lupica. Hicks' sophomore teammate ran 21.26 to place second in the same race. Lupica now ranks second all-time at Bucknell, just two-hundredths of a second behind the school record set by Kerry Boyle in 2007.
- Lupica has run the 200 three times in his outdoor career and set a program top-10 time in three of those races.
- Anthony Menza and Patryk Najbar were among the Bison men to set season bests in each of their sprints last weekend. Menza ran 22.42 in the 200 and 49.63 in the 400, while Najbar clocked in at 11.00 seconds in the 100 and 22.08 in the 200.
- Allison Daley finished the 400-meter hurdles in 1:04.96 at the Bison Outdoor Classic. The sophomore's time was nearly two seconds faster than her previous best this spring and less than one second shy of her career best set last year. Daley finished ninth at the weekend meet.
- After missing the indoor season, Emma Rice has been in action longer than most Bison this spring. The extra races seem to be paying off as the sophomore has improved her 200-meter times each time out. In her latest race, Rice clocked in at 26.72, less than one second off her personal record from last year's Patriot League Championships.
MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
- Four Bison posted IC4A/ECAC-qualifying times in the 10,000 meters last weekend. Michael McGowan (30:00.32) and D.J. Krystek (31:04.39) on the men's side are each multi-time qualifiers in the event. Each of the women's qualifiers, Montana DiPietrantonio (36:33.77) and Zoe Gaston (37:24.91), will be making their first trips.
- DiPietrantonio's 10K time was among the 10 best in program history. The sophomore made her career debut on the record lists by earning the No. 7 spot.
- Hana Casalnova, Beth Braunegg and Caroline Tolli are no strangers to the record book. Each of the trio occupies a spot on both the 800 and 1,500 lists, not to mention at least one position on the 4x800 and distance medley relay ledgers. In total, Tolli owns seven top-10 times, Casalnova has six and Braunegg has four. On the current roster, only Sasha Hornock and Jennifer Zymet have more with nine apiece.
- Braunegg's latest top time came in the 1,500 last weekend. The junior ran 4:30.38 to place eighth. She has set a career best in the event in each of her last two races at that distance, finishing in 4:33.60 at the Colonial Relays in early April. This most recent performance earned her the first Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week honor of her outdoor career.
- New top-10 times haven't been just for the women. Alex Jagelsky and Ryan Johnson did their part to rewrite the 800-meter records. Jagelsky's 1:52.16 ranks eighth, while Joshnson's 1:52.57 is 10th. Both finished among the field's top five of at the Bison Outdoor Classic.
THROWS
- The third of the weekly accolades went to Leonard Joseph. The senior set the school record in the hammer throw and finished with a season best in the discus at the Bison Outdoor Classic, earning him titles of Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week and Bison Athlete of the Week.
- Joseph's hammer mark of 209-11 broke Jim Heizman's school record from 1996 by eight inches. It was the second-oldest field event record still standing, topped only by Bill Gravely's triple jump record from 1976 (50-11 ¾).
- Heizman suffered another blow when his discus mark was bumped from the top 10 last weekend as well. Brian Monahan threw 156-9 to tie for ninth in program history, and as that was his debut on the event's record list, dropped Heizman to 11th.
- While the Joseph overtook a record that had stood for more than a decade, Luke Webster broke one that had lasted for just two weeks. The senior broke his own program standard in the discus, improving the mark to beat to 172-1. Webster also made his top-10 debut in the shot put, vaulting up to fifth with a throw of 52-4 ¾, and set a season best in the hammer throw (153-6).
- Erin Norris cracked 130 feet in the javelin for the first time in her career. The sophomore took eighth at the meet with her personal record of 131-11. That ties Danielle Brown for fifth all-time at Bucknell.
- There is at least one current Bison ranking in the program's top 10 of every throws event on both the men's and women's side. In the hammer, it's Joseph (first, 209-11) and Kathryn Wahls (t-10th, 162-5). In the discus, it's Abby Monaghan (fourth, 151-9), Webster (first, 172-1), Joseph (seventh, 157-10) and Monahan (t-ninth, 159-9). The shot put includes Sophia Nnadi (ninth, 43-2 ½), Stephen Koullias (fourth, 52-7 ¼), Webster (fifth, 52-4 ¾) and Quinten Marcott (sixth, 52-4 ½), and the javelin has Tayler Siegrist (fourth, 144-1), Norris (t-fifth, 131-11) and Laddie Trees (seventh, 208-7). All but one of those marks has been set in the last two years.
JUMPS
- Although some of the least recognized athletes in the field events, Bucknell's jumpers put up some improved numbers last weekend. Alexandra Romanelli (17-3 ½), Devon McDonald (16-7 ¾) and Jessica Matsinger (16-5 ¾) each had season bests in the long jump.
- Yanelis Mestre and Emily Ando also put up pole vault performances to write home about. Mestre cleared a career-best 11-2 ½, giving her sole possession of the No. 7 ranking in program history. Ando's 11-8 ½ was her best since clearing 12-1 ½ at last year's Patriot League Championships.
- The women's pole vault has more current Bison listed on the top 10 than any other event. Joining Ando, who is third (12-1 ½), and Mestre in seventh are Autumn Schellenberger (sixth, 11-7 ¾) and Kristin Sundy (eighth, 11-1 ¾).
- Ray Holmes highlighted the men's side in jumps at the Bison Outdoor Classic. The junior won his second triple jump title in three meets, besting the field with a mark of 48-11 ¾. He also has three IC4A-qualifying marks and one program top-10 distance in those three meets.
LOOKING BACK
- Bucknell's women have won each of the last two Team Challenge titles, while the men have won the last four.
- In 2012, the Bison men won 12 individual titles. Most of those winners are coming back this spring, including Jason Brown (high jump), Hicks (100m), Joseph (hammer), Kevin Keller and Alex Prieto (tied, long jump), Lupica (110HH), Nathaniel Witter (pole vault), and all four members of the 4x100 and 4x800 relays.
- The men's team standings in 2012 saw Bucknell more than double the second-place squad. The Bison totaled 292.5 points, followed by Penn State (104 points), Duquesne (50) and Lock Haven (50) to round out the top half of the standings.
- The Bucknell women earned seven individual gold medals last year. All but two return in 2013. Casalnova (800m), Katie Jessee (3,000m), Monaghan (discus), Schellenberger (pole vault) and the 4x800 relay will be attempting to defend their titles.
- The women's 800 was one of the fastest in Bucknell history. Casalnova, Braunegg and Tolli went 1-2-3 in the event and posted the third-, fifth- and sixth-fastest times, respectively. - The 2012 team title went to Bucknell with 196.5 points. Duquesne was second with 121 and Penn State placed third with 110. No other squad hit 100 points.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell is just two weeks out from the Patriot League Championships. Before officially getting into the postseason, however, the Bison will compete at the Penn Relays (April 25-27) and the Bloomsburg Maroon & Gold Invitational (April 26).
