Bucknell University Athletics
Bison Track & Field to Challenge at Colonial Relays
4/3/2013 8:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
April 3, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After a long layoff, Bucknell track and field is wasting little time in ramping up the action as it continues its outdoor campaign at the William & Mary Colonial Relays April 5-6 in Williamsburg, Va. Both the men's and the women's squads earned top-three finishes in the team standings a year ago. The Bison will try to repeat the success when they open at 9 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
- When Bucknell competed at UMBC last Saturday, the Bison saw some of their best short-distance success in the relays and hurdles. They took the gold medal in three of four hurdles races thanks to Chrissy Haney's win in the 400 hurdles and Christian Lupica's wins at both the 110- and 400-meter distances.
- Lupica's time of 54.59 in the 400 hurdles ranks seventh in Bucknell history. His 14.47 seconds in the 110 high hurdles was just two-hundredths of a second off his personal best, which is fourth on the program ledger. Saturday marked the first time Lupica had won both events at the same meet. The sophomore had just one gold medal in the hurdles all of last year when he won the 110 hurdles at the Bucknell Team Challenge.
- The women's 4x100 relay made a bit of history. With their time of 47.93, Jennifer Zymet, Kim Nagotko, Jess Bridle and Sasha Hornock rank third in program history. Each of the three best times on the Bucknell top-10 list have been set in the last three years, and Zymet and Hornock were a part of all three of those relays. The duo teamed up with recent graduate Taylor Funk and current sophomore Emma Rice to set the school record (47.45) last spring.
- Zymet also won the 400 meters at the UMBC Big Dawg Invitational last weekend. It was her first win in the 400 since taking gold in the 2012 Patriot League Championships with a career-best 55.72 seconds, which still ranks second all-time at Bucknell.
MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
- Bucknell had a firm handle on the 800 and 1,500 meters at UMBC. The Bison went 1-2 in both the men's and women's 800 meters thanks to Beth Braunegg, Caroline Tolli, Ryan Johnson and Dustin Horning. Bucknell also placed four runners in the top five of both 1,500s.
- Braunegg and Johnson were winners in the 800 and Chris Oesterlin took the top spot in the men's 1,500. It was the first career win at their respective distances for each of the three runners.
- Like many of her teammates, Kylie Pearse was a first-time winner as well, which makes sense as she did not compete outdoors during the 2012 season. On Saturday, the sophomore was the first to cross the finish line in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her time of 11:25.63 gave her the title by almost 20 seconds and took her from being unranked in Bucknell history to the No. 8 spot.
- D.J. Krystek is not a complete stranger to winning as he was the victor in the 5,000 meters. It has been some time since the senior stood atop the podium, however. Krystek's last win was also in the 5,000 meters at the Bloomsburg Open as a sophomore in 2011.
THROWS
- When Bucknell competed at the Maryland Invitational last Saturday, it took only select members of its throws unit. That allowed the Bison women to collect two silver medals in the hammer throw. Kathryn Wahls was runner-up in the event at UMBC, while Abby Monaghan was second at Maryland. The duo had nearly identical distances, however, with Wahls finishing with a throw of 142-6 and Monaghan closing her day at 142-2.
- Monaghan also won the discus at Maryland. Now a senior, Monaghan started her 2012 campaign with top-five finishes in the discus in each of her first five meets. That stretch also included two wins – at the Colonial Relays and the Bucknell Team Challenge.
- Luke Webster had his own success in the discus, breaking the Bucknell record as the first Bison at better than 170 feet. The senior now owns the standard at 170-10, although he has flirted with the mark for some time now. Webster first cracked the top five as a sophomore, winning the Bucknell Team Challenge with a throw of 162-2. He eventually bettered that mark to 168-6 last season. That stood as the No. 2 throw in program history and his personal best until last Saturday.
- Webster earned top-10 finishes at Maryland in all three of his events. In addition to finishing second in the discus, he was third in the shot put with a career-best 51-0 and seventh in the hammer throw. Also earning top-10 finishes in all three events was sophomore Jack Fellows, who went fifth in the shot, sixth in the discus and eighth in the hammer.
- Webster was named the Bison Athlete of the Week on Monday following his breakthrough performance. It was his first career honor of that kind.
- Sophia Nnadi continued her tear through the shot put competition. During the indoor season, the freshman failed to hit 40 feet in each of her first four meets. She then won back-to-back outings at the Bucknell Winter Classic and Patriot League Championships with a career best at better than 43 feet each time. Now in her first collegiate outdoor meet, Nnadi took third with a throw of 43-2 ½. That is good enough for ninth all-time at Bucknell.
JUMPS/POLE VAULT
- Bucknell dominated across the board in the pole vault at UMBC. The Bison took first through fourth place on the men's side and first through fifth on the women's. Daniel Markwalter and Emily Ando went down as the winners.
- Markwalter's final height of 15-3 made him the only pole vaulter at better than 14 feet. The meet was his first since last spring after he missed the indoor season due to illness. It was also his first win since the 2012 Bloomsburg Maroon & Gold Invitational and his first meet at better than 15 feet since setting his personal best at 15-9 at last year's Bison Outdoor Classic.
- Ray Holmes was the triple jump winner at UMBC. The 2013 Patriot League champion in the indoor triple jump, it was just the second outdoor win of his career. Holmes won the Towson Invitational, which was also the spring opener a year ago. This past Saturday, the junior earned an IC4A-qualifyign mark of 47-7.
2012 COLONIALS RELAYS
- When the Bucknell men wrapped up competition at the 2012 Colonial Relays, they found themselves in second place behind Michigan, 177-165. Hampton was a distant third with 92 points.
- The women finished their weekend third in the team standings with 78 points. Villanova won the title with 152 points, while Delaware was second with 90.
- Bucknell won three individual gold medals and all three were in the throws events. Monaghan won the discus, Laddie Trees won the javelin and Quinten Marcott took the top spot in the shot put. Marcott's throw of 52-4 ½ still ranks fifth all-time at Bucknell.
- Webster finished second in the shot put behind his teammate. His throw of 50-9 ¼ was his personal best until last Saturday when he broke the 51-foot plateau.
- More than one school record fell at the meet a year ago. Running 1:41.40, the women's 4x200 relay of Zymet, Rice, Hornock and Nagotko took over a record that had stood since 2003, besting that time by more than two seconds. Robert Arent also broke the record in the 110 hurdles with a time of 14.31 seconds.
LOOKING AHEAD
Bucknell will return home for its next two meets, hosting the Bison Outdoor Classic (April 13-14) and the Bucknell Team Challenge (April 20) at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. The Bison won the Bucknell Team Challenge last year on both the men's and women's sides.
