Bison Women Prep for Loyola-Hopkins Invitational and Virginia Quad this Weekend

4/5/2018 7:00:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

By: TBD

Setting the Scene

What: Loyola-Johns Hopkins Invitational

When: Friday, April 6, 2018

Where: Loyola-Johns Hopkins Track and Field Complex, Baltimore, Md.

Live Results: Lexicontiming.com

Teams Competing: Bucknell, Bloomsburg, Catholic, Coppin State, Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Maryland, McDaniel, Medgar Evans, Montgomery College, Stevenson, Towson, UMBC

Setting the Scene

What: Virginia Quad

When: Friday, April 6, 2018 (rescheduled due to weather)

Where: Lannigan Field, Charlottesville, Va.

Live Results: flashresults.com

Teams Competing: Virginia, Bucknell, Georgetown, Maryland

About the Bison/Last Time Out

Bucknell returns to action after opening its outdoor season at both the Raleigh Relays and Jim Taylor Invitational last week. The Bison will have athletes competing at two different meets on Friday. They will have a contingent in Charlottesville for a four-way scored meet along with Viginia, Georgetown and Maryland. Another group will be in Baltimore for a meet co-hosted by Loyola and Johns Hopkins.
Maura Fiamoncini provided the highlight at last week's Jim Taylor Invitational. The Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, native had an impressive performance in the javelin throw in her collegiate debut. She won her event and destroyed Laura Rycek's seven-year-old school record by over 25 feet, with a toss of 184-5. Rycek held the previous mark of 158-7 since 2011. Fiamoncini put herself in position to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Meet and now has the second-best throw in the country. Alyssa Olin of North Dakota State, who tossed (191-5) is the only one with a better throw this season. At last year's NCAA Championships, that throw would have placed fourth, trailing only Irena Sediva, Virginia Tech (1st, 192-9), Marija Vucenovic, Florida (2nd, 192-2), and Ashley Pryke, Memphis (3rd, 186-9). Fiamoncini earned her first career Patriot League Rookie of the Week award on Monday.
Christine Bendzinski put on quite a display in the 5,000-meter run against elite competition at the Raleigh Relays. The Hebron, Connecticut native won her heat while breaking Colleen Buckley's year-old school record by 12 seconds with a time of 16:17.66. Bendzinski placed 12th overall out of 136 runners and put herself in solid position to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Meet in Tampa in late May. She now holds three outdoor school records (800m, 1,500m, and 5,000m) and has the 23rd-fastest time in the country in the 5K.
Colleen Buckley also had a terrific showing in the 10,000-meters at the Raleigh Relays. She placed 22nd overall out of 61 finishers with a time of 34:53.59. It was the second-fastest time in program history, trailing only Kate Scott's 34:46.48 run last year. Buckley's time also puts her in position for the NCAA East Preliminary Meet later this spring. The junior ranks 54th in the nation in the 10K.
The Bison won 13 events at the Jim Taylor Invite, including one relay.
Jennifer Dietrich led Bucknell with two first-place finishes, picking up wins in the 200-meter (26.14) and 400-meter (57.03) dashes. She moved up to ninth on Bucknell's all-time top-10 list in the 400m.
Lauren Hudson (high jump), Emma Dolen (3,000m steeplechase), Kafilat Oladiran (100H), Tiara Tardy (1,500m), Alison Varano (400H), Molly Montalvo (hammer), Danielle Line (discus), and Ella Schultz (shot put) each won their respective event.
Kaitlin Salisbury won the 100m (12.41) and helped a 4x1 relay team earn first-place.
Molly Montalvo set a personal best in the hammer throw. Montalvo recorded a toss of 175-6, now fifth-best in program history. The mark she earned currently ranks number one in the Patriot League. She also placed fourth in the shot put, tossing 37-11 ¼.
The 200-meter dash was another highlight for the Bison, as the Bison took the top five spots. With Dietrich included as the top finisher, Bucknell also had Emily Ryan (2nd, 26.42), Carli Lucke (3rd, 26.47), Rebecca Rooney (4th, 26.66), and Taylor Kennedy (5th, 26.75) all break the 27-second threshold.
Bucknell continued its excellent outing in the hurdles by taking the first four spots in the 400-meter intermediates. Alison Varano (1st, 1:05.69), Katie Sabatino (2nd, 1:06.08), Cayleigh Glew (3rd, 1:08.15), and Chelsea Reynolds (4th, 1:08.44) were the top finishers.

Quotes from Head Coach Kevin Donner:

On the Virginia Quad: "We are looking forward to a scored meet with three other highly qualified programs. The meet will be a short one, so it's easy for our athletes to focus, and I believe our depth will allow us to try to beat some of these teams. There will be a lot of quality competition in this meet."
On the Loyola-Hopkins Invitational: "This meet gives the athletes who do not go to UVA an opportunity to compete. Our outdoor season is short, so it is important for us to provide opportunities for our athletes to prove themselves. We do have a few of our high end people competing at this meet due to their events not being offered at UVA, so this is far from a secondary meet."

Up Next

The Bison return to action Apr. 14-15 for the Bison Outdoor Classic. The action will be streamed live on FloTrack, and fans can also follow on twitter @Bucknell_TFXC.