Men's Track and Field Set for Patriot League Outdoor Championships

5/3/2018 10:29:00 AM | Men'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 TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

About the Bison

The Bison are ready to compete at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships and are looking to win their first title since 2013. Navy has won the last four Patriot League titles since then.
The Bison jumpers contingent will be comprised of Nicholas Lombardo, Steve Bolger, Reggie Harris, Micah Sims and Brendan Bodish, along with pole vaulters Matthew Fay and Nicholas Marino. Lombardo -- a four-time Patriot League champion in the long jump and two-time champion in the high jump -- will compete in three events (high jump, long jump, triple jump). He holds the school record in the high jump (6-11) and ranks second all-time in the long jump (24-6 ½). Lombardo has recorded the best league mark in the long jump and ranks No. 2 in the high jump this season.
Bolger ranks in the top five in the conference in both the high jump (6-4) and long jump (22-11 ¼). The junior made contributions at the Patriot League Indoor Championships in February, scoring in both the high and triple jumps. He also placed sixth in the long jump at last season's outdoor championships. Bolger will take part in both events at this year's outdoor championships.
Harris ranks among the top-10 in school history in the triple jump with mark of 47-5 ¼ feet. The junior scored in both the long jump and triple jump at the indoor championships, helping the Bison place third, which was their highest overall finish since coming in second in 2015. Harris has the fourth-best PL mark in the triple jump this season. He will be competing in the LJ and TJ this weekend.
Sims posted a top-five standing at the indoor championships in the long jump and placed 10th in the event at last year's Patriot League Outdoor Championships. He has an opportunity to score at this year's league championships, as he currently has the sixth-best league mark in the long jump at 22-5 ½ feet. Bodisch will help add depth to the lineup and will be competing in the LJ at his first outdoor championship meet.
Fay is the school-record holder in the pole vault at a height of 16-10 3/4, set at last year's IC4A Championships. His season-best of 16-7 1/4 at the Bison Outdoor Classic currently ranks No. 2 in the Patriot League. Meanwhile, Marino, a freshman, went 16-4 3/4 at the Jim Taylor Invitational earlier this spring. That is the second-best mark in school history behind Fay, and the third-best in the league this year.
The sprinters contingent will be comprised of Jeffrey Brown, Ryquan Harris, Billy Melchionni, Alex Dessoye and Steve Rizio. Brown has made tremendous improvements from last year, and in his very first meet of the season posted a top-10 program mark in the 100-meter dash (10.73). Brown earned a pair of top-five finishes at the Patriot League Indoor Championships and also broke a school record in the preliminary heats of the 100m. At last season's outdoor championships, the sophomore posted a pair of top-10 standings in both the 100/200-meter dashes. He will take part in both events at this year's outdoor league championships. Harris will be running alongside Brown in both the 100m and 200m.
Melchionni sits inside the top-10 in the conference in both the 200-meter (21.69), and 400-meter (48.69) dashes. The junior competed well at the indoor championships earlier in the season, finishing fifth in the 400m, before helping lead a 4x400 relay to a gold medal standing. He won a pair of medals at the outdoor championships last year, posting a third-place finish in the 200 and a first-place standing in the 400. He will participate in both events at the outdoor championships, while also anchoring both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
Dessoye and Rizio will compete in the 400-meter dash and 4x400 relay. Dessoye helped a 4x4 relay squad set the fifth-fastest mark in program history (41.22) at the Penn Relays and has the seventh-fastest mark in the Patriot League in the 400. He earned a silver medal in the race at the indoor championships and was a member of the gold medal-winning 4x4 relay squad. Rizio was also a member of the first-place 4x4 relay team at the indoor championships, and additionally posted a top-10 standing in the 400m.
In the 800-meter run, Scott Gulizio, Robert Dessoye, Nick Pacelli, and Sean Conway will represent the Bison. Gulizio posted a top-10 program time in the event last year and has one of the top-10 fastest Patriot League times in the event this season. He earned a bronze medal in the 4x800 relay at the Patriot League Indoor Championships back in February, and also won silver in the same event at last year's outdoor championships.
For Robert Dessoye, it will be his first outdoor championship meet. The freshman finished just behind teammate Conway in the 500m at the indoor championships, placing fourth. He also ran the second leg on the gold medal-winning 4x400 relay team. Pacelli and Conway both earned medals at last year's Patriot League Outdoor Championships as members of the 4x8 relay.
The distance group will include a total of seven Bison athletes, with Drew Dorflinger having the best opportunity to score in the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs. Dorflinger ranks among the top-10 in school annals in both events and has the eighth-best mark in the conference in the 5,000m this season. He earned a bronze medal in the 1,500m at last year's outdoor championships, while also winning another medal as a member of the distance medley relay at this seasons Patriot League Indoor Championships. Connor McMenamin, Will Bordash, Brian Dengler, Ben Siciliano, James Weissenborn, and Terryl Ferrell will also take part in the 5,000m.
Dengler and Siciliano will additionally compete in the 10,000-meter run. Siciliano will have a chance to score as he currently sits in fifth-place in the conference with a time of 31:38.03.
Peter Onusconich, Matthew Barton, and Bodisch will compete in the hurdles. Onusconich and Barton both posted top-10 finishes at last year's outdoor league championships in the 110H and 400H. Onusconich has one of the top-10 best marks in the PL in the 400H (55.62).
Leading the way for Bucknell in the 3,000-meter steeplechase will be McMenamin and Ferrell. Both own top-10 PL standards this year and will have the best chance to score points. Weissenborn, who set a new PR in the event at the Bison Outdoor Classic with a time of 9:29.14, will also be competing.
Taking part in the men's shot put, discus, and hammer throw events at the outdoor championships are William Briggs, C.J. Falcioni, Ninh Lam, Hayden Lindsey, and Zach Ruiz. Lindsey and Ruiz (shot put), Briggs (discus), and Falcioni (hammer) have all posted top-10 marks in the Patriot League in their respective disciplines. Briggs placed ninth last year in the discus at the outdoor championships, while Falcioni scored in the weight throw at this seasons Patriot League Indoor Championship, with a sixth-place standing in the weight throw.
The javelin throwers include Aidan Krombolz, Terry Hall, and Jordan Montero. Krombolz recorded the seventh-farthest throw in program history with a heave of 209 feet, 11 inches at the Virginia Quad. He'll take charge for the Bison and currently has the best in-season mark of any Bucknell athlete participating in the event. It will be the first championship meet of the freshman's career. IC4A qualifiers Montero and Hall, who finished fourth at last year's outdoor championships will look to put up solid marks.
Ethan Dunne will be the lone Bucknell representative in the men's decathlon. Dunne set a career-best by scoring a combined 5,409 points at the Mondschein Multi and has the fifth-most points scored in the conference this season. He also placed seventh in the 60-meter hurdles at the indoor championships in February.

Patriot League Outdoor Championship History

Bucknell will be looking to capture its sixth outdoor title in program history and the first since 2013.
The Bison finished fourth in last year's championships.
This will be the fifth time that Lafayette College has hosted the meet. The Patriot League Championships also took place at Lafayette in 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2011. Bucknell's best finish there was first in 2011, and the Bison also took second in 1995 and 2000, and fourth in 2005.
Nicholas Lombardo won the title in both the high jump and long jump. Lombardo became the first Bison in program history to win a Patriot League title in the outdoor high jump, taking first-place with a leap of 6-9 ¾ feet. He was named Field Athlete of the Meet for his efforts.
Billy Melchionni took gold in the 400-meter dash and ran the second-fastest time in program history after clocking in at 47.43. He became the first Bucknell runner since Rob Arent in 2011 to win a gold medal in the event. At the time, he was only a sophomore and was named the Male Track Athlete of the Meet. Melchionni also won bronze in the 200-meter after clocking in at 22.00 seconds.
Both Lombardo and Melchionni earned First-Team All-Patriot League accolades.
Scott Gulizio helped a 4x800 relay team finish second with a time of 7:34.95, earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors.

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