Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
Patriot League Championships
Bracken Breaks School Pentathlon Record on First Day of Patriot League Track & Field Championships
2/26/2022 10:58:00 PM | Women's Track and Field
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Bucknell senior Michaela Bracken broke her own school pentathlon record, and the Bison shined in the pole vault to end the first day of the Patriot League Indoor Track & Field Championships in fourth place.
Navy (78) currently leads the way in first place, while Army (58) and Boston U. (33.5) also sit ahead of Bucknell (26). The Bison grabbed points in four different events and had a number of athletes earn spots in tomorrow's event finals. Notable among them was Meghan Quinn, who ran the second-fastest 60m dash in program history during the prelims.
"Our women had a pretty good day when you add up our finalists, personal-best marks and points scored. This meet is a war of attrition, and we did have a couple areas that suffered a bit, but other areas picked us up," said head coach Kevin Donner. "Our two pole vaulters were nothing short of sensational, and we picked up some big points. Bracken may have had one of the greatest days in school history with a huge school record in the pentathlon in which she tied our school record in the high jump. Quinn looks great in the 200 and 60 where she moved up on our all-time top 10 lists and is ready for today's finals. Hull and Forker looked great in their trials, and Macones and Castellano are always reliable. We have an opportunity for a lot of points on Sunday."
Bracken already ranked first on Bucknell's all-time top 10 list in the pentathlon after setting a new high mark for the first time in 14 years back in December. She raised the bar even higher on Saturday with 3,750 points, which was 212 points more than her previous mark. Bracken took third overall at the meet, and she won the pentathlon's 800 (2:19.33) and high jump (5-8). The high jump mark tied Amy Mantush's school record set in 2010.
Also moving up the top 10 list was reigning Patriot League Track & Field Rookie of the Week Karly Renn. Renn placed third in the pole vault to nab six points for the Orange & Blue. Her 12-5.5 is now alone at second-best in school history after she tied for second all-time last weekend with a 12-3.5.
Just behind Renn in fourth place was teammate Jennifer Scott, who also set a personal best in the pole vault (12-1.5) to move into a tie for fourth all-time.
Gianna Macones scored points for the Bison in the long jump with an excellent 18-9.75 and a fourth-place finish. She hit the mark on her first leap of the day. Macones also just missed out on a finals qualifier in the 60m, falling .01 seconds out of eighth with a 7.89.
Qualifying for the 60m finals on Saturday was first-place finisher Quinn, whose 7.63 time is second-fastest all-time behind only Kaitlin Salisbury (7.50). Quinn also advanced in the 200, taking fourth in the prelims with a 25.28. The time beat out her previous best of 25.41 and ranks seventh on the top 10 list.
Also scoring for the Bison was the 4x800 team (Karly Forker, Mackenzie Turner, Tara Lyons, Anna Posh), which took fifth with a time of 9:11.14.
Karen Hull advanced to Saturday's 60m hurdles finals (3rd, 8.82), Karly Forker advanced in the mile prelims (6th, 4:57.64), and Jessie Castellano qualified for the 400 finals (5th, 58.18), setting the scene for an exciting second day of the meet.
Sunday's events begin at 11 a.m. at the Gerhard Fieldhouse.
Players Mentioned
