Men's Track and Field Hosts First Home Meet of 2021 on Sunday

Sunday, March 28

Lewisburg, Pa.

All Day

Bucknell University

UMBC and Saint Francis (Pa.)

Photo by: Virginia Athletics

Men's Track and Field Hosts First Home Meet of 2021 on Sunday

3/26/2021 12:01:00 PM | Men's Track and Field

LEWISBURG, Pa.—The Bucknell University men's track and field team will host its first home meet at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium since April 20, 2019 when it hosts UMBC and Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sunday, March 28.

Live Results Meet Info Heat Sheets

About the Bison

Bucknell opened its season last weekend at Virginia, taking on a tough Cavalier team who had competed for a full indoor season prior.
Bucknell had several strong performances on Saturday, with event victories from Jordan Montero, Noah Martin, Tommy Cahill, and Brendan Bodisch.
Bodisch posted an impressive time in the 400H (55.49), which is just shy of a Bucknell top ten mark. Bodisch currently ranks ninth on Bucknell's all-time list in the event (54.28), and also took third in the long jump (23-1.75).
Nicholas Marino, the Patriot League Indoor runner-up, began his outdoor season by placing third in the pole vault (15-7).
Anthony Zamarra posted a strong performance in the shot put in finishing second on the day (52-2.75). The throw for Zamarra ranks in a tie for tenth on Bucknell's all-time list.
Bucknell's meet on Sunday will be scored, and the Bison emerged victorious in its last home meet in Lewisburg in taking the team title at the 2019 Bucknell Team Challenge.
Robert Dessoye and Alex Dessoye both had strong marks in the 400 at 48.62 and 48.72, respectively. R. Dessoye's time broke into the Bucknell top ten at the time, while Bodisch (22.54) also had a strong day in the 200.

Season Preview
With one meet under their belt already this season, Head Coach Kevin Donner expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the squad against a challenging Power Five opponent on Saturday.

"We competed," said Donner. "If we don't have meets we lose, and if we have meets, we win. It was a long drive, but it was worth every hour we were on the bus. I thought we competed very well. It's great seeing the joy and the smiles, and the sense of normalcy. We took more athletes than we would normally to allow them to get some experience, and I was overall pleased with the results. We are appreciating the moment, and we aren't taking anything for granted."

While Donner said the team usually doesn't host home meets this early, the new regulations in place in the COVID-19 era limits the amount of meets Bucknell can participate, as well as the amount of teams that can compete at Bucknell this weekend.

Bucknell will host UMBC and Saint Francis (Pa.), and Donner stated that there is usually a big improvement between meets one and two for the team. Donner was the head coach of the Red Flash for five years from 1996-2001, where his teams combined for five Northeast Conference Championships.

"The nice thing about a home meet is that everybody can compete," said Donner. "The weather should cooperate, and we're excited to get back out there."

Sprints/Hurdles
Alex Dessoye returns as one of Bucknell's top mid-distance runners. Dessoye ranks in a tie for tenth with his twin brother Robert in the 400 (48.62), and has also contributed to two Patriot League gold-medal-winning relays in the indoor and outdoor 4x400 relay. A. Dessoye has scored eight points at the Patriot League Indoor Championships, and four at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships. A. Dessoye started the season brightly at Virginia, finishing third in the 400 (49.21).

Donner added that junior Kevin Boyle has shown a lot of improvement for the Bison. Boyle finished fourth in the 100 at Virginia (11.04), and also finished second in the 200 (22.74). First year Matt Perello also had a strong day in finishing third in the 100 (11.02), and the 200 (22.45). Perello also ran a leg on Bucknell's 4x100 relay on Saturday. Another talented first year in the sprints is Rayven Sample, who finished fifth in the 200 (23.01) and fourth in the 400 (51.26) in his collegiate debut. Caleb Wooten (23.63) also competed in the 200 for the Bison on Saturday.
"
Those four sprinters seem to be the nucleus between our long sprints and our short sprints," said Donner.

In the hurdles, the Bison return two veterans to the fold in Bodisch and Jack Memoli. Bodisch placed ninth in the 400 at the 2020 Patriot League Indoor Championships, and began his senior season strongly with a solid time in the 400H on Saturday (55.29).
Memoli placed fourth at the 2020 Indoor Championships in the 60H (8.40), and sits just outside the Bucknell top ten with a personal-best time of 14.92 in the 110H set at the Patriot League Outdoor Championships in 2019 in which the junior just missed out on scoring in a ninth-place showing.

Kameron Schreffler, a local product from Lewisburg, will also be in the mix at the 110H, where he finished fourth at Virginia on Saturday (16.03), just behind Brian Kennedy (16.02), who finished in third.

Mid-Distance
In the mid-distance, Donner figures that Robert Dessoye is poised to have a strong year as one of Bucknell's most consistent runners over the past four years. R. Dessoye contributed to a third-place finish in the 4x400 at the Patriot League Championships, and is also a part of the outdoor 4x400 relay with the program's fourth-fastest time (3:12.47). R. Dessoye also ranks eighth on Bucknell's all-time list in the outdoor 800 (1:51.43).

Donner also added that a couple of first year runners in Griffin Schlegel and Alex Simpson, along with Brett Zatlin, could also provide good depth.
Schelgel was second in the 800 on Saturday, (1:57.68), while Simpson was seventh (1:59.60). Zatlin has played an important role in the past on Bucknell's 4x800 squad at the IC4A Championships, and has a personal-best time of 1:52.98 indoors.

Connor McMenamin also returns as a two-time runner-up in the 3000m steeplechase. McMenamin enjoyed a fantastic cross country season in which he was a First Team All-Patriot League selection, and an All-Academic Team selection. The senior has also proven to be a solid choice in the 5000m, and Donner is hoping to have McMenamin qualify for the NCAAs in the steeple.

Evan Minor, a fellow All-Patriot League selection in cross country, also returns as one of Bucknell's top returnees in the 5000 and the 10,000.

Donner also added that Brendan O'Toole and Owen Chase will be solid contributors in the 1500 this season.

Throws

Donner noted that while his throwing unit is a young group, he believes the group shows a lot of potential.

Jordan Montero, a CoSIDA Academic All-District pick, returns in the javelin. Montero won the javelin at Virginia (195-8), and set a personal record at the 2019 Outdoor Championships in finishing fifth (205-1).

Anthony Zamarra, who was the team's rookie of the year last season, also had a strong weekend, tying for tenth on Bucknell's all-time list in the shot put (52-2.75) with current assistant coach Dan Frake.

Robert Feeney is a first year that Donner mentioned competed well at the weekend against very good competition, and posted a solid mark in the hammer throw (163-2).

Jumps

Donner added that his team has good depth in the jumps, with Bodisch the top returning long jumper. Bodisch finished third in the long jump on Saturday (23-1.75), which is just a few inches shy of a top ten mark at Bucknell. No Bucknell athlete has broken into the top ten since Will Carter and Nicholas Lombardo each posted top ten marks in 2017.

Tommy Cahill is a first year that Donner added brings versatility in the high jump and the long jump. Matt Fedorovich is another first year that will compete in the long jump and the triple jump, while Ian Lawrence and Jaden Rouse return as two more experienced options.

Pole Vault

Nicholas Marino returns after finishing runner-up at the 2020 Indoor Championships, and holds second spot on Bucknell's all-time list (16-7.25). Miguel Negrete is a first year that Donner noted could make an impact at the pole vault. Negrete cleared 15-0 last season at Fordham Prep, and will look to continue to improve in the Orange and Blue.

Multi
Aiden Brewer and Tyler Wukitsevits return as Bucknell's most experienced options in the multis. Brewer was an All-East selection in the heptathlon at the IC4A Championships (4065). Wukitsevits was just off the mark of scoring at the 2020 Patriot League Indoor Championships, where he placed ninth after recording a personal record of 4465.

"Our team has been working very hard, and they are ready to compete," said Donner. "We're always looking to close the gap with Army and Navy, and we have a lot of freshmen that have the opportunity to make some lineups for us. I think a top three finish is well within reason for this year's team."