Women's Track and Field Looks to Capture Second Straight Triple Crown

5/2/2018 12:00:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

By: TBD

Setting the Scene

What: Patriot League Outdoor Championships

When: Friday, May 4 - Saturday, May 5

Where: Metzgar Field Athletics Complex, Easton, Pa.

Watch: (SATURDAY ONLY): Patriot League Network

Live Results: MitchellTiming.com

Teams Competing: Lafayette, Lehigh, Army, Navy, Boston U., Holy Cross, American, Colgate, and Loyola

PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

About the Bison/Last Time Out

Bucknell is set for its title defense at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships and is vying to win its second consecutive “Triple Crown” as champions in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field in the same academic year. A win this weekend would give the Bison senior class 10 of a possible 12 league championships over the last four years, with one of the "misses" being a tie for first in cross country where Boston University was declared the winner on tiebreaker criteria.
In the distance events this weekend, Bucknell will have some of its most decorated athletes competing. Christine Bendzinski, who recently earned the Christy Mathewson Award as the top athlete in the Bucknell senior class, will likely compete in both the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships. Bendzinski was extremely successful at the Patriot League Indoor Championships in February. She won the mile for a fourth consecutive year, becoming the fourth athlete in league history to accomplish the feat, while also earning a runner-up standing in the 5,000-meter and helping lead a 4x800 relay team to a gold medal.
Bendzinski has carried her momentum from the indoor track into another stellar outdoor campaign. The Hebron, Connecticut, native has broken two school records (1,500 & 5,000) and also shattered the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium record in the 1,500 with a time of 4:16.54. Bendzinski ranks among the top-20 nationally in the 1,500 and will try to win her first career outdoor titles in both the 5,000m and 1,500m this weekend. She has the fastest times in the Patriot League in both events.
Colleen Buckley continues to be one of the league's top distance competitors. The junior won both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs at this year's indoor league championships and was named the Patriot League MVP. She was also a First-Team and Second-Team All-Patriot League selection at last year's Patriot League Outdoor Championships. Buckley currently has the second fastest-mark in program history in the 10,000m after clocking in at 34:53.59 at the Raleigh Relays. Teammates Lauren Gronbeck and Christine O'Kane will also participate in the 10,000m.
In the 5,000m, Buckley and Bendzinski will be joined by Payton Capes, Madeleine Hunt, Margaret Thomson, Gronbeck, O' Kane, Emma Dolen, Ashley Blair and Lauren Hazzard. Blair and Hunt will compete alongside teammate Bendzinski in the 1,500-meter run as well. Gronbeck has the fifth-best mark in the Patriot League in the 5,000m, while O'Kane sits inside the top-10 in the 10,000m. Both athletes earned top-10 finishes at last year's Patriot League Outdoor Championships.
Buckley also owns the second-fastest mark in school annals in the 5,000m (16:29.83); Bendzinski, who holds the school record in the event, has the fastest time after shattering Buckley's year-old record at the Raleigh Relays back in March. The River Edge, New Jersey, native has a conference-best mark in the 10,000m and is fourth in the league in the 5,000-meters (16:59.46) this season.
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Capes, Hazzard, Dolen, and Thomson will all be competing. Capes has the sixth-fastest time in program history and the fifth-best mark in the Patriot League (10:56.65). The freshman placed 12th in the mile at the indoor championships. Thomson sits in seventh-place on Bucknell's top-10 list in the event (10:57.35) and earned a pair of top-10 standings in the 3,000 and 5,000-meter run at this year's Patriot League Indoor Championships.
The mid-distance group will be made up of Tiara Tardy and Gianna Mincone. Tardy will compete in the 800-meter run, an event where she ranks fifth all-time in school history and third in the Patriot League. The freshman earned a bronze medal in the 800m at the indoor championships and helped lead a 4x8 relay squad to a first-place standing. Mincone was a top-10 finisher in the 1,000-meter run at the Patriot League Indoor Championships and was also a member of the gold medal-winning 4x8 relay team. It will be her first time competing in an outdoor championship meet. Additionally, Tardy will be a member of both the 4x400 and 4x800 relay teams, while Mincone runs in the 800m and 4x8 relay.
Jennifer Dietrich, Kaitlin Salisbury, and Carli Lucke will comprise the Bison sprinters group. Dietrich has the fourth-fastest mark in school annals with a time of 56.16 in the 400-meter dash and ranks fifth in the Patriot League with that standard. The freshman placed ninth at the indoor championships in that event, while also helping lead a 4x400 relay team to a fourth-place standing. She owns a top-10 mark in the indoor 400-meter run as well. She will compete in both the 400m and 4x400 relay at the Patriot Leauge Outdoor Championships. Rebecca Rooney will run alongside Dietrich in the 400m and 4x4 relay. Rooney earned a pair of top-10 standings at the indoor championships this past February.
Salisbury will take part in the 100/200-meter dashes, long jump, and triple jump events at the outdoor championships. The sophomore owns top-10 program marks in the 100m and 200m, while also holding a school record in the long jump (19-8 ¾). At the indoor championships earlier this year, Salisbury scored in the 60m and triple jump, while finishing in the top-10 in the 200m and long jump events. During last year's outdoor championships, she placed third in the 100m, fifth in the 200m, second in the long jump, and 13th in the triple jump. In the triple jump and long jump, she will be competing with teammates Alexa DiGregorio and Alexis Auman. Auman has an excellent opportunity to score in the event, as she ranks fifth in the Patriot League with a mark of 18-10 3/4 feet. Salisbury has the second-best Patriot League long jump standard entering this weekend.
Lucke will likely compete in the 100m and 4x100 relay. The senior possesses a top-10 mark in the 100-meter dash. She led a 4x4 relay squad to a fifth-place standing at the indoor championships earlier this year.
The hurdlers contingent will include Kafilat Oladiran, Katie Sabatino, and Alison Varano. Oladiran has been one of the most successful hurdlers in the history of the program. She holds the school record in the 60-meter hurdles and has the fourth-fastest time in school annals in the outdoor 100-meter high hurdles. Oladiran earned a silver medal in the 60H back in February at the indoor championships and placed 10th in 100H at last season's Patriot League Outdoor Championships. Oladiran has the sixth-best Patriot League mark in the 100H this year.
Sabatino holds a top-10 mark in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 1:04.66. That is the event in which she will compete at the outdoor championships, and so will teammate Varano. The senior finished 13th in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at last year's Patriot League Outdoor Championships.
Over in the throws, Molly Montalvo, Delia Sipe, and Ella Schultz have had solid seasons for the Bison. Montalvo earned a bronze medal in the weight throw at the indoor championships in February and put up a firm mark in the hammer throw at last season's Patriot League Outdoor Championships. Montalvo finished in second-place, setting a new PR, and recorded the sixth-best heave in program annals with a toss of 167-7 feet. She has pummeled that mark in her third-year as a Bison athlete, with a throw of 179-0 feet, which is the fourth-best mark in school history. Montalvo will also compete in the discus and shot put.
Sipe placed sixth at the Patriot League Indoor Championships in the shot put with a throw of 44-1 ¼ feet. Sipe currently ranks eighth on Bucknell's top-10 list in the outdoor shot put after recording a career-best toss of 44-4 feet at the Bucknell Team Challenge. She has a top-10 Patriot League mark in the discus this year too. Additionally, Sipe will participate in the hammer throw and discus.
Schultz owns top-10 program standards in the indoor, and outdoor shot put. She won a bronze medal in the event at the indoor championships and placed second in the shot put at last season's outdoor championships, earning a Second-Team All-Patriot League honor and silver medal. Schultz is fifth in the PL with a mark of 44-4 3/4 feet. She will also be competing in the hammer throw. Danielle Line will be grouped in with the discus and hammer throwers as well.
The javelin throwers will include Maura Fiamoncini, Hanna Beer, Taylor Oxley, and Kasey Getkin. Fiamoncini has been one of the best javelin throwers in both the Division I and Patriot League ranks. The freshman has shattered both the Bucknell and Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium records in the javelin this year. The Mt. Carmel, Pennsylvania, native's top throw of 184-5 feet, which was recorded at last months Jim Taylor Invite ranks third in the nation. Mackenzie Little of Stanford (192-4) and Alyssa Olin of North Dakota State (191-6) are the only athletes with better throws this season. Fiamoncini also has the top mark in the Patriot League by just under 35 feet.
Beer and Oxley both own top-10 program marks in the javelin and rank third and fourth, respectively in the Patriot League. Getkin scored in the event at last year's outdoor championships and set a new PR this season, with a toss of 139-11 at the Bucknell Team Challenge. Beer, Oxley, and Getkin will add depth to the javelin group.
One of Bucknell's deepest groups, the jumpers, will also include Lauren Hudson, Sydney Contrino, Alexandra Butz, Alexa DiGregorio, and Lexy Forrestal. Hudson has been one of the premier high jumpers in the Patriot League this season. She currently ranks No. 1 in the conference and has the third-best jump in program history (5-6). Hudson earned a bronze medal as a junior last year at the outdoor championships and became the first Bison athlete, since her assistant coach, Amy Mantush, in 2010, to win gold in the high jump at this season's Patriot League Indoor Championships.
Butz was a runner-up in the high jump at the indoor championships. She holds top-10 marks both indoor and outdoor in the event. It will be her first career outdoor championships. The freshman is tied for fifth in the conference with teammate Forrestal. DiGregorio placed second in the long jump at the indoor championships and is tied for third in school annals with Kaitlin Salisbury, after leaping 18-10 ¾ feet.
Chloe Brown and Butz will represent the blue and orange in the pole vault at this year's outdoor championships. Brown holds top-10 program standards in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault. The senior earned a top-10 finish in the event at the indoor championships, setting a new PR, and moved up to fifth on Bucknell's all-time list. She also finished 10th at last year's outdoor championships in the pole vault.
Harper Stewart and Alexis Auman will compete for Bucknell in the multi-events. Stewart ranks 10th in program history after scoring a combined 4,080 points in the women's heptathlon at the Mondschein Multi. The junior also finished in the top-10 in the pentathlon at this year's indoor championships.
Auman placed third in the heptathlon at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, earning a bronze medal. She has the seventh-highest total of points scored (3,821) in the Patriot League heptathlon; she also scored in the triple jump at outdoor league's last season.

Patriot League Outdoor Championship History

Bucknell is looking to capture its fourth consecutive outdoor title and 17th overall since joining the Patriot League in 1991.
Bucknell scored 194.5 points last year, 23 points higher than second-place finisher, Boston University (171.5). Lehigh (166), Army (125) and Navy (85.5) rounded out the top-five.
This will be the fifth time that Lafayette College has hosted the Patriot League Championships. Bucknell won the championship trophy three out of four times that the meet took place there, finishing second only to Army in Lafayette's very first home league championship meet in 1995.

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