Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Youngstown State Invitational
Bison Light Up the Track on First Day of Youngstown State National Invite
2/7/2014 11:09:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Bucknell track and field team opened up an action-packed weekend of competition on Friday with a slew of impressive performances at the Youngstown State National Invitational, held at the university's Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS). The Bison, who have turned in faster times and better distances with each successive competition this season, finished the day with two new facility records, multiple IC4A/ECAC qualifiers and a bevy of personal best performances.
“It was a great first day at Youngstown,” said head coach Kevin Donner, “Our 500 and 1000 meter runners ran well, and I was also happy with the 5K and field events. We had a lot of personal bests and season bests, and we continue to add more IC4A/ECAC qualifiers. Both of those things bode well for the end of the season.”
Bucknell turned in some of its best races of the day in the 500, blowing away the competition and re-writing the WATTS record books in both the men's and women's event. On the women's side, the Bison claimed seven of the top eight spots, led by senior Jennifer Zymet, who finished with a blazing fast time of 1:14.70 to earn the victory. The mark, her personal best and an ECAC qualifying time, broke the facility record and also made her the second-fastest performer in the event in program history. Sophomore Jenn Silvestri also had a strong race, finishing third and becoming the ninth-best all-time performer with her time of 1:16.29.
Sophomore Ryan Johnson led a sweep of the top three spots on the men's side, breaking the facility record that he set at last year's meet with his new personal best of 1:04.58. The time qualified him for IC4As and moved him into the eighth spot on Bucknell's list of all-time performers in the event.
Bison raced to the top spot in three more of the track events contested on Friday afternoon, with sophomore Alison Billas, senior Hana Casalnova and senior Tyler Erhard all claiming first place in their respective events. Billas led a group of Bucknell runners that took seven of the top 10 spots in the 5000, crossing the finish line ahead of the pack with a time of 17:40.71. Casalnova and Erhard both won the 1000, with Casalnova finishing three seconds ahead of the field in a time of 2:56.43 and Erhard qualifying for IC4As in 2:28.27.
Bucknell's field athletes also earned their share of the glory on Friday, with senior Alex Prieto's first place in the long jump highlighting a multitude of strong showings. Prieto, who led a one-two sweep of the event for the Bison, produced an IC4A qualifying leap of 23-00.75 to finish just ahead of junior Kevin Tapper (22-11.25). Senior Emily Ando continues to perform well in the pole vault, taking second in the event with a distance of 11-03.75, while sophomore Sophia Nnadi and junior Jack Fellows each took runner-up honors in their respective weight throw events. Nnadi's heave of 51-11.75 makes her the 10th-best performer in program history, while Fellows produced a solid throw of 58-03.00.
Saturday will feature competition in two different meets for the Bucknell track and field team, with some members of the squad set to continue on at Youngstown State and others ready to compete in the Akron Invitational. Action in Akron will begin at 9 a.m., while events at Youngstown State will begin at 10 a.m. Live stats are available for both meets, and the Akron Invitational will be live-streamed by the MAC Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
