Sliney Named Patriot League Female Rookie of the Week

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell women's track and field freshman Margaret Sliney has been named M-F Athletic Patriot League Female Rookie of the Week, following a strong performance at the Meyo Invitational.

On the opening night of competition, Sliney teamed up with upperclassmen Christine Bendzinski, Sarah Chandler and Allison Sharkey to run in the distance medley relay. The foursome broke the school record in the race with a time of 11:27.11, smashing the previous mark of 11:34.61 set last season. Chandler ran the first 1,200-meters in 3:29.8, while Sharkey ran the second leg of the race, 400m in 58.1. Sliney ran the following 800m in 2:12.7, followed by Bendzinski running the remaining 1,600m in 4:46. The mark is the fastest in the Patriot League by nearly 28 seconds and the 18^th-best time in the nation.

Sliney followed up her performance with a strong effort in the 400m, completing the race in 57.07, now the fastest time in the league and sixth-fastest in school history.

Sliney is now the second Bison this season to earn Patriot League rookie honors, joining Kaitlin Salisbury, who is a three-time rookie of the week recipient.

Bucknell has one last meet before the Patriot League Championships, the Bucknell Tune-Up on Friday at Gerhard Fieldhouse.