Track & Field Resumes Competition with Bucknell Mini Meet on Saturday

1/10/2014 2:42:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. – After taking a five week hiatus for final exams and the holidays, the Bucknell track and field teams will return to action on Saturday, hosting the Bucknell Mini Meet at Gerhard Fieldhouse. The Bison, who will be joined by student-athletes from Bloomsburg, Georgian Court University, Gwynedd Mercy College, Hagerstown Community College, Mount St. Mary's and York College in the one-day meet, begin competition in the field events at 11 a.m. and the track events at 12:30 p.m. Live results for each of the day's events will be available on BucknellBison.com.

“The Mini Meet is a low-key competition where we are essentially busting the rust after a five week break from competition and three weeks off for the holiday break,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “We are training hard during our winter training camp, and are not that concerned about times and distances this weekend. I will be comparing where our athletes were one year ago today to check on their yearly development. It's a perfect early season test without the pressure.”

Bucknell opened its indoor track and field campaign on Saturday, Dec. 7, hosting the Bison Opener in Gerhard Fieldhouse, and both the men's and women's teams produced a slew of strong early season performances. The men, who were picked second in the Patriot League's preseason poll turned in four first-place finishes and three IC4A cuts over the course of the day, while the women, who were picked first in the poll, had four first-place finishes and one new program top-10 mark.

Junior Christian Lupica had one of the most impressive outings of the day, setting two new school records and earning both Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week and Bison Athlete of the Week honors on Monday, Dec. 9 for his performances. He set his first school record of the day in the 300 meter dash, finishing in first place with a time of 34.62, and followed that up with a strong showing in the 60 meter hurdles, breaking the program's top mark in both the prelims and the finals of the event. His final time of 8.03, which placed him second, was also an IC4A cut time.

Freshman Malachi Bostic-Wattley took top honors in the semifinal of the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.12, and then followed that up with an IC4A cut time in the 200 meter dash (22.59), while seniors Jacob Eaton Hall and Scott Weismiller also turned in first place finishes for the Bison. Eaton Hall ran to victory in the 400 meter dash with a time of 50.16, while Weismiller's 15-3 performance in the pole vault tied him for first place.

On the women's side, Allison Sharkey posted a top-10 time in the 300 meter dash, winning her heat in her first collegiate competition. The freshman turned in a time of 42.66, making her the eighth fastest performer in program history. Senior Beth Braunegg (mile), senior Emily Ando (pole vault), senior Alyssa Cardillo (long jump) and freshman Carly Reiner (triple jump) all turned in first place finishes for the Bison.

After competing on Saturday, Bucknell will take another two-week break, returning to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 for the Gulden Invitational. The Bison will host the annual meet at Gerhard Fieldhouse, and competition is set to begin at 10 a.m.