Four Straight! Women's Cross Country Wins Patriot League Title

Saturday, October 27

Lewisburg, Pa.

11 a.m.

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Four Straight! Women's Cross Country Wins Patriot League Title

10/27/2018 1:20:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

Colleen Buckley was the Patriot League Individual Champion

RESULTS

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell won its fourth straight Patriot League Women's Cross Country title in dominant fashion Saturday, fueled by an individual title from senior Colleen Buckley and six total All-Patriot League runners. The Bison hosted the Patriot League Championships for the first time since 2004.

"That performance today may have been one of the best performances from a team that I have ever coached," said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner, who earned his eighth Patriot League Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year award. "Based on previous results, we were expecting a very tight meet"

Joining Buckley in the top seven runners and with First Team All-Patriot League recognition were sophomore Ashley Blair and senior Margaret Thomson. Earning Second Team honors were sophomore Payton Capes, freshman Nora Bennett, and senior Jenna Farmer.

Bucknell had a final tally of 33, finishing 40 points ahead of second-place Lehigh (73). Rounding out the top five in the 10-team field were Navy (111), Boston University (113) and Army West Point (117). The Bison became just the third team to win four straight league titles and the first team to do it twice.

Bison head coach Kevin Donner was named the Patriot League Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year for the eighth time since taking over the program in 2001.

Running in cold and wet conditions, including ankle-deep water near the end of each lap, Buckley easily won the individual title with a time of 21:41 on the 6k course. She was nine seconds faster than the runner-up, Holy Cross junior Jenna Gasparrini. Buckley led by three seconds at the 3.9k mark and only got stronger as the race went on. Her first career title came in a field of 110 runners.

Buckley landed a spot on the First Team for the third straight year, a feat also accomplished last year by former teammate Christine Bendzinski. She moved closer to the front each year, taking fourth as a sophomore, third as a junior, and finally first in her final collegiate cross country season.

Blair was the meet's breakout runner while earning her first All-Patriot League honor. After being around the fifth or sixth runner in the Bison lineup throughout the season, she finished sixth in the entire league with a time of 22:02. Thomson also earned her first All-League award, taking seventh in 22:05.

Capes (22:18), Bennett (22:20), and Farmer (22:20) finished in order in ninth, 10^th, and 11^th to give Bucknell three runners on the Second Team. Capes and Bennett made All-League for the first time, while Farmer did so for the second straight year.

"Our women were very confident going into this race and definitely had the right mindset about the course and the weather," Donner said. "They showed great patience over the first loop and just started moving up throughout the race. Being at home really helped with a very good crowd. I cannot express how proud I am."

Junior Lauren Gronbeck had a strong meet for the Bison with a 17^th-place finish, just three spots away from All-League honors. Senior Lauren Hazzard was 26^th, while sophomore Madeleine Hunt took 31^st. Rounding out Bucknell's runners were senior Christine O'Kane (46^th), junior Emma Dolen (55^th), and senior Anna Chiodo-Ortiz (65^th).

Bucknell has won the league meet 12 times since the conference was formed in 1990. Nine of those titles have come during Donner's 18 years as head coach.