Women's Track and Field Preps for Patriot League Championships at Lehigh

Saturday, February 29

Bethlehem, Pa.

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Track and Field Preps for Patriot League Championships at Lehigh

2/24/2020 4:37:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell University women's track and field team will look to improve upon a third-place finish at the Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships from Feb. 29-March 1 at Rauch Fieldhouse.

Setting the Scene
What: Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships
Where: Rauch Fieldhouse, Bethlehem, Pa.
Watch: Patriot League Network (Day 2 only)
Live Results: Mitchell Timing
Schedule of Events

About the Bison

Bucknell, which has won two of the past three Patriot League titles indoors, will look to improve upon a tie for third-place showing one season ago in Annapolis.
Kaitlin Salisbury, the defending champion in the 60, has posted season-bests in back-to-back meets heading into the 2020 edition of the Indoor Championships in the 200 (24.69) and the 60 (7.56), respectively. The senior from Hawthorne, N.J. broke the Bucknell and facility record at Navy in the 60 last year (7.50), and her time of 7.56 at the Bucknell Tune-Up on Friday ranks as the second-fastest in the Patriot League behind Army's Calli McMullen (7.51), who finished second to Salisbury in 2019. Salsibury also won the title in 2017 in taking Rookie of the Meet honors, while McMullen managed to win the event in 2018.
Salisbury had a strong meet overall, taking fourth in the long jump, third in the triple jump, as well as scoring a point in the 200.
Fellow defending champion Ashley Blair returns to look to earn another Patriot League gold in the 3,000 after a narrow win in the event last year over teammate Colleen Buckley. Blair, a junior, finished the race in 9:49.37, the fifth-fastest time in Bucknell history.
Bucknell has now garnered three straight champions in the 3000 with Blair, Buckley, and Christine Bendzinski, with Bendzinski breaking the meet record in 2017 (9:27.37).
Alexandra Butz moved into third on Bucknell's all-time list in the high jump in clearing 5-7 and finishing runner-up. Sydney Contrino (6^th, 5-3) also scored in the event.
Tia Tardy notched a third-place finish in the 800 (2:13.26), and finished in second at the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Bucknell's 4x800 team of Karly Forker, Gianna Mincone, Madeleine Hunt, and Tardy finished in fourth place last season in a very competitive field in running the second-fastest time in school history (8:53.10).
The last time Lehigh hosted the Patriot League Indoor Championships in 2005, the Bison took a commanding win, scoring 211.5 points, 81.5 ahead of second-place Navy. Head Coach Kevin Donner was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year in the process. The meet was one of seven straight championships for the Bison from 2002-08.
Bucknell competed at Rauch Fieldhouse earlier this year as a part of the Angry Birds Invite, winning the team title at the event.
Gianna Macones (19-0) posted a new personal-best in the long jump in finishing second, while Michaela Bracken was first in the high jump (5-5), a new personal-best.
Tara Lyons was first in the 800 (2:19.31) for her second straight victory in the event.