Women's Cross Country Travels to Lehigh for Patriot League Championships

Friday, March 5

Bethlehem, Pa.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

Patriot League Championships

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Cross Country Travels to Lehigh for Patriot League Championships

3/4/2021 2:57:00 PM | Women's Cross Country

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Bucknell University women's cross country team will be making its season debut on Friday when it heads to the Patriot League Championships at the Goodman Campus of Lehigh University.

The race, which moved from Lafayette over to a road course at Lehigh, will be Bucknell's first action since competing at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships on November 15, 2019.

"Assuming there is not another pause in athletics over the next day and a half, it looks like the race on Friday is a reality for the Bison," said Head Coach Kevin Donner. It's been a long time coming considering this will be our first race of the entire academic school year. We are obviously very excited, and although there will be a lot of question marks about our team, we are excited and fit. Our athletes did a wonderful job while training on their own throughout all the pauses, and our recent workouts have looked very good. There is obviously a difference between training and racing. Although it's obviously a major meet, we are also looking at this as the start of the outdoor track and field season with the Patriot League Championships in eight weeks. It sure has been a non-traditional type of year, and all of us are in uncharted territory when it comes to training and preparation."

About the Bison

Bucknell will head into the 2021 Patriot League Championships full of confidence after a finishing runner-up at the 2019 Fall Championships.
Bucknell, which had won four titles entering the meet, finished just seven points behind Boston University in a closely-contested race.
Bucknell has finished in the top two of the Patriot League Championships in each of the past six seasons.
Bucknell returns all but two of the Patriot League lineup from last season after the graduation of seniors Lauren Gronbeck and Hope Beyer.
First Team All-League picks Olivia Dyer (3^rd), Ashley Blair (5^th), and Ashlyn Ramos (6^th) all return for another year, while Second Team selection Nora Bennett (10^th) is also back for the Bison.
Bucknell also returns fifth runner Emily Deschler (35^th), Mia Bellucci (55^th), Kate Amaddio (77^th), Ruth Segall (79^th), Kaitlin Ryan (79^th), and Karly Forker (85^th).
Dyer is the top returning runner in the league, after finishing third behind seniors Abigail Gugel of Boston University and Jenna Gasparrini of Holy Cross. Both Dyer and Ramos earned First Team accolades in their Patriot League Championship debut, while Blair and Bennett each earned recognition for the second straight season.
Tia Tardy, Elyssa Penson, Madeleine Hunt, Kelsey Bordash, and Sarah Bain all return as seniors.
The junior class consists of Ava Warfel, Tara Lyons, Lucie Kubinski, Samantha Killiany, and Jamie Falla.
Returning for year two in the Orange and Blue are sophomores Julia Tambaro, Asta Rustad, Camille Lussier, Meredith Haberfield, and Sarah Haas.
Rounding out the roster this season are ten newcomers in Allyson Clarke, Mariana Engleby, Maddy Hippensteal, Eva Lindner, Alicia Newman, Abby Paczewski, Laura Sakol, Meghan Smith, Hailey Tabar, and Hollie Walters.
Bucknell last competed at Lehigh in 2017, taking first with 58 points. Blair is the only active Bison to compete in that race, finishing 63^rd overall.