Bison Break Three Meet Records, Win Patriot League Outdoor Championships

Saturday, May 2

West Point, N.Y.

All Day

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Bison Break Three Meet Records, Win Patriot League Outdoor Championships

5/2/2015 7:51:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

By: TBD

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Bucknell women's track and field team set three meet records on its way to winning the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, which concluded on Saturday at Army West Point's Shea Stadium. The Bison captured both the indoor and outdoor conference championships this year.

Bucknell won the team title with 165 points, while Boston University was second in the nine-team field with 149 points. The Bison have won five the past seven outdoor conference championships.

“This was a total team effort for our women,” said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner, who was named the Coach of the Year during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. “Boston is a great team and put a lot of pressure on us towards the end of the meet, but our depth in all of our different event groups really paid off.

“Statistically this may be one of our best teams in school history,” Donner continued. “To break three league records in the same meet was awesome.”

Junior Sophia Nnadi was selected as the Field Athlete of the Meet after earning All-Patriot League honors in two events and posting top-three marks in three. On Saturday, she won the shot put with a meet and school record toss of 49-10 ½. That eclipsed Bucknell's previous record by over three feet. She added a third-place finish in the discus on the day. Abigail Brundage was two spots behind Nnadi in the shot put, taking third.

Freshman Efe Agege was voted the Rookie of the Meet. She won the triple jump with a meet-record leap of 40-9. That ranks second on Bucknell's all-time list. She was also fifth in the long jump. The Bison won the Rookie of the Meet at both the indoor and outdoor championships this year.

Kate Scott was Bucknell's other athlete to break a meet record on the weekend. She set the top mark in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 35:18.94 on Friday.

Freshman Christine Bendzinski was the Patriot League Rookie of the Meet during the indoor championships and probably would have brought home the award again if it wasn't for the outstanding performance by her teammate. She was All-Patriot League in two events, taking second in both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. Her time of 4:31.16 in the 1,500m ranks seventh all-time at Bucknell. Reagan Cerney also scored in the 800m with a third-place finish, while Katie Jessee and Sarah Chandler were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 1,500m.

Four more Bison runners took home conference titles as part of the 4x100 relay. Jess Bridle, Kafilat Oladiran, Kimberley Lapszynski and Kim Nagotko each ran a leg on the relay that won with a time of 47.12, which ranks second all-time at Bucknell.

Stephanie Easse earned All-Patriot League honors in the discus. She was the runner-up with a distance of 145-5, good enough for 10^th on Bucknell's all-time list. In all, the Bison brought home 11 all-conference awards.

Nagotko, Jessee and Jen Silvestri all scored in a pair of individual events on Saturday. Nagotko took fourth in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, while Jessee added a fifth-place showing in the 5,000-meter run to her performance in the 1,500m. Silvestri was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles and fifth in the 100-meter hurdles. Her time of 14.54 seconds in the shorter of the two races ranks fifth on Bucknell's all-time list.

Other notable finishes for the Bison included Deanna Godby, who took fourth in the 5,000m, and Lapszynski, who was fifth in the triple jump. Devon McDonald was sixth in the long jump, while Oladiran (100H), Carly Reiner (100m), Montana DiPietrantonio (5,000m) and Alison Varano (heptathlon) all took seventh. Finishing eighth were Kate VanNess (5,000m), Allison Sharkey (400m), Sarah Chandler (1,500m) and Laura Papili (400H).

Sharkey, Bridle, Cerney and Elyse Pettaway added points with a fourth-place finish in the 4x400 relay.

Efe Agege

BUCKNELL'S ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE WINNERS FOR THE ENTIRE MEET
Sophia Nnadi (2), Christine Bendzinski (2), Efe Agege, Kate Scott, Jess Bridle, Kafilat Oladiran, Kim Lapszynski, Kim Nagotko, Stephanie Easse

BUCKNELL'S POINT SCORERS ON SATURDAY

Sophia Nnadi (Field Athlete of the Meet)
- 1^st in the shot put (49-10 ½) – MEET RECORD – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE – SCHOOL RECORD
- 3^rd in the discus (141-5)

Efe Agege (Rookie of the Meet)
- 1^st in the triple jump (40-9) – MEET RECORD – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 2^nd all-time at Bucknell
- 5^th in the long jump (17-3 ½)

4x100 relay (1^st)
- Jess Bridle, Kafilat Oladiran, Kim Lapszynski, Kim Nagotko (47.12) – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 2^nd all-time at Bucknell

Christine Bendzinski
- 2^nd in the 800 (2:12.78) – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE
- 2^nd in the 1,500 (4:31.16) – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 7^th all-time at Bucknell

Stephanie Easse
- 2^nd in the discus (145-5) – ALL-PATRIOT LEAGUE – 10^th all-time at Bucknell

Reagan Cerney
- 3^rd in the 800 (2:13.27)

Kim Nagotko
- 4^th in the 100 (12.15)
- 7^th in the 200 (25.11)

Deanna Godby
- 4^th in the 5,000 (17:29.89)

Jen Silvestri
- 4^th in the 400H (1:02.73)
- 5^th in the 100H (14.54) – 5^th all-time at Bucknell

Abigail Brundage
- 4^th in the shot put (43-9)

4x400 relay (4^th)
- Allison Sharkey, Jess Bridle, Reagan Cerney, Elyse Pettaway (3:50.71)

Katie Jessee
- 5^th in the 5,000 (17:44.34)
- 7^th in the 1,500 (4:38.71)

Kimberley Lapszynski
- 5^th in the triple jump (38-0)

Devon McDonald
-6^th in the long jump (17-3 ½)