Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Indoor Championships
Dessoye Earns PL Honors, Bison Men Finish Third at Indoor Championships
2/18/2018 7:17:00 PM | Men's Track and Field
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Capped off by a sensational, gold-medal winning performance in the 4x400-meter relay, the Bucknell men's track and field team concluded a strong showing with a third-place finish at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, which concluded Sunday evening at Gerhard Fieldhouse. Freshman Alex Dessoye, who took the baton from twin brother Robert Dessoye in the middle of that winning relay, earned Rookie of the Meet honors as the Bison turned in their best team finish since placing second in 2015.
The Bison take 🥇 gold 🥇 in the men's 4x400 relay! What a finish by Billy Melchionni to hold off Boston University! #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/37NLgox5ui
— Bucknell Track & XC (@Bucknell_TFXC) February 18, 2018
Navy tallied 240 points to capture the title for the sixth straight year. Army West Point was the runner-up with 197 points. Bucknell finished third overall with 117 points, followed by Lehigh (81.5), Boston University (62), American (41), Lafayette (23), Holy Cross (11.5) and Colgate (6).
"Third place was a very good moral victory for our men," said head coach Kevin Donner. "We knew that Army and Navy had the depth and power, but we have been fourth the last two years behind Boston University. We felt being at home gave us an advantage, and it did. Our kids knew how to compete in the flat 200, and I was very proud of the relays. The last two years they were kind of a letdown starting in third place and ending up in fourth because we had a rough time. This year we walked away with a championship in the 4x400 and a medal in the DMR; I can't say enough about how proud I am of the guys. Most of the guys were doing their third and fourth events, which is hard to do."
Standing out among the strong performances was that 4x400 relay, which was the final event of the meet. Sophomore Steve Rizio handled the lead leg, followed by the Dessoye brothers, and then junior Billy Melchionni blazed a 48.60 final leg to fend off Boston University anchor Cameron Nurse. Bucknell's time of 3:18.30 was just ahead of the Terriers' 3:18.62.
In addition to his gold medal in the 4x400, Alex Dessoye was also runner-up in the individual 400. He posted a time of 49.59, just behind Navy's John Finnegan in 49.46. Melchionni was fifth in the 400 in 50.28, and Rizio grabbed a point with an eighth-place effort in 50.67.
Robert Dessoye placed fourth in the 500 meters in 1:05.84, one spot behind sophomore Sean Conway (1:05.47).
After defending his title in the long jump on Saturday, senior Nicholas Lombardo reached the podium for the second time in the high jump. He finished second, clearing 6-8 ¼ and scoring eight points. Teammate Steve Bolger placed sixth (6-4 ¼). Lombardo also placed seventh in the triple jump with a leap of 45-8.
Junior Reggie Harris placed second (47-9) in the triple jump, Not only was that the best championship finish of his career, but he set a PR and moved into a tie for ninth on Bucknell's all-time list. His mark was just 2 1/4 inches behind the winner, Cedric Williams of Navy.
Sophomore Jeffrey Brown was fourth in the 60-meter dash in 6.89 seconds, which was just .03 behind the winning time of Navy's Aaron Watson. Brown broke the school record in the 60 with a 6.81 in the prelims on Saturday. He also finished sixth in the 200-meter dash in 22.56.
Sophomore Nick Pacelli and junior Scott Gulizio placed fourth and sixth in the 1,000 meters. Pacelli crossed the finish line in 2:29.97, and Gulizio in 2:31.36. Freshman Ethan Dunne finished seventh in the 60-meter hurdles (8.68), and classmate Owen Concaugh came in eighth-place in the 800-meter run by clocking in at 1:57.28.
In the mile, three Bison placed 10th or better. Sophomore Drew Dorflinger took sixth in a time of 4:13.58. Sophomore Jacob Stupak, who had the lead heading into the final lap, ended up ninth with a 4:15.49, and senior Will Bordash rounded out the top-10 by clocking in at 4:17.49.
In the distance medley relay, the quartet of Pacelli, Conway, Gulizio and Dorflinger won the bronze medal in 10:07.960. They finished a mere .002 behind American for second place, while Army won it in 10:05.45.
The Bison wrap up the indoor season on March 3-4, when the team returns to Boston to compete in the IC4A Indoor Championships.
Players Mentioned
