Bison Women Kick off Competition at 121st Penn Relays on Thursday

4/22/2015 9:59:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

By: TBD

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's track and field opens competition at the 121^st Penn Relays on Thursday. The three-day event annually brings in over 22,000 entrants, including athletes from more than 60 countries. The competition will be streamed live by FloTrack.com.

“The Penn Relays is one of the oldest and most prestigious track and field meets in the country,” said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner. “We really enjoy competing in this event; however we do not go all in because it is the week before leagues. We make sure that we do not over-extend certain athletes. The people that we are sending are ready to place high and represent Bucknell very well.”

Sophia Nnadi and Abigail Brundage will kick things off for the Bison when they compete in the shot put at 12:45 p.m. Nnadi, who has qualified for the ECAC Championships in two events during the outdoor season, will go right from the shot put to participate in the hammer throw. Both Nnadi and Brundage have qualified for ECACs in the shot put and rank in the top four in the Patriot League. Nnadi has the second-best hammer throw in the conference.

Also competing in individual events for the Bison will be Katie Jessee and Efe Agege. Jessee will run the 3,000m on Thursday, while Agege will compete in the triple jump on Friday. Agege has the best triple jump in the Patriot League this season, holding the top spot by one inch over Navy's Crystan Mclymore.

Bucknell will send two relay teams, both of which will compete on Thursday. Sarah Chandler, Kim Nagotko, Reagan Cerney and Christine Bendzinski will run the distance medley, while Allison Sharkey, Elyse Pettaway, Laura Papili and Jen Silvestri will run the 4x400.

The Bison will also take part in the Maroon and Gold Meet at Bloomsburg on Saturday. They won 11 individual titles at the event last year.

Following this week's competition, Bucknell sets its sights on the Patriot League Championships, which will be held at Army West Point's Shea Stadium on May 1-2.