Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Indoor Championships
Salisbury Breaks School, Facility Record in 60, Blair Wins 3000 as Bison Finish Third Overall at PL Championships
2/17/2019 7:06:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
Complete Results
"Although third is not the standard for the women's program at Bucknell, I was proud that we never gave up and kept working and grinding for every available point," said Head Coach Kevin Donner. "We had a few things go wrong for us on day one that put us in a hole, and we had an upward battle on day two. A few things went wrong early on in day two as well, but the women battled and we had some pretty good things happen that allowed us to salvage third. We have a young team and some of these women are not quite battle tested yet, so this meet was a great learning experience on how to handle the intensity and attrition of a championship weekend. I am confident that we will be back."
Navy won the championship with a score of 194.5, while Army (142), finished in second place. Bucknell and Boston University finished tied for third with 125 points, while Lehigh (88.83), Holy Cross (43.66), Loyola Maryland (27), Lafayette (18), American (12), and Colgate (4) rounded out the rest of the field.
Salisbury followed up on Bucknell's victory in the men's 60-meter dash by breaking her own school record of 7.61. Salisbury ran just shy of her school-record in the prelims (7.62), but left little doubt in the finals as she ran by the competition to finish in 7.50 and break the facility record. Salisbury just beat out Army's Calli McMullen, who ran a 7.53. Salisbury also placed fourth in the long jump on Saturday, and was third in the triple jump on Sunday after a leap of 39-4. She also picked up a solitary point in the 200.
The @Bucknell_Bison sweep the 60-meter dash! It's Kaitlin Salisbury winning gold on Sunday.
— Patriot League Network | PatriotLeague.tv (@PatriotLeagueTV) February 17, 2019
🏃♀️𝗧𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝗜𝗡 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘🏃♂️
📺 https://t.co/3zqF1dbXIZ pic.twitter.com/MEpjQI4OGg
Blair won her first career gold medal after overtaking teammate and defending champion Colleen Buckley at the very end to win the 3,000 meters. Blair used a strong kick at the end to pass Buckley at the last second, as the two separated themselves from the pack late. Blair qualified for the ECAC Championships, and her time is now the fifth-fastest in Bucknell history. Buckley followed close behind with a time of 9:49.46 to finish second, with the two runners over four seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The win for Blair comes a day after she finished fifth in the 5000 with a time of 17:24.88, good for ninth on Bucknell's all-time list.
What a finish by Ashley Blair to edge Colleen Buckley as the Bison go 1-2 in the 3000! Blair's time was the fifth-fastest in Bucknell history! @Patriotleaguetv pic.twitter.com/PCW12HUWzl
— Bucknell Track & XC (@Bucknell_TFXC) February 17, 2019
Alexandra Butz moved into third on Bucknell's all-time list in the high jump after clearing 5-7 on Sunday to finish in second place. Sydney Contrino also scored in the event after clearing 5-3 to finish in sixth.
Freshman Samantha Lopes posted a strong finish in the triple jump, leaping 39-3 1/4 to move into a tie for fifth on Bucknell's all-time list.
Buckley, last year's Track Athlete of the Meet, also finished in eighth in the mile also on Sunday after placing third in the 5,000 on Saturday.
Tia Tardy was third in the 800 with a time of 2:13.26, while Becca Rooney placed fourth in the 500 with a time of 1:15.12, an ECAC-qualifying standard.
Rooney's time also cracks Bucknell's top ten list in the 500 as the sixth-fastest time.
Freshman Karly Forker also had a strong run in the 1,000, running just shy of her personal-best of 2:53.66 with a time of 2:53.71 to finish in third place.
Forker, Rooney, and Tardy were also part of the distance medley relay team that finished in third place, along with Nora Bennett. The team qualified for ECACs with a time of 12:02.04.
Delia Sipe was third overall in the shot put with a throw of 45-3.5. Freshman Abby Whitaker also picked up points in a sixth place finish with a throw of 43-10.
The Bison will return to the track beginning on March 1 at the ECAC/IC4A Championships in Boston, Mass.
Players Mentioned
