Women Second After First Day of ECAC Championships; Finishes at Virginia Challenge

Saturday, April 18

New Brunswick, N.J.

10 a.m.

Bucknell University

ECAC-IC4A Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Steven Schoenfelder

Women Second After First Day of ECAC Championships; Finishes at Virginia Challenge

4/18/2026 7:44:00 PM | Women's Track and Field

PISCATAWAY, N.J./CHARLOTTESVILLE Va.- Bucknell women's track & field sits second after the first day of the ECAC Championships. Eleven All-East honorees and one event win powered the Bison's placement. The Orange & Blue scored 56.5 points and only trail host Rutgers, who is running a full squad. The select group of sprinters and hurdlers completed the Virginia Challenge with several notable results.

Results (ECAC) | Results (Virginia Challenge)

"I thought day one went very well at the ECACs," said head coach Kevin Donner. "Although we went into this meet not worried about team scores, the majority of athletes that we brought finished above their ranking and many scored some points snd won some hardware. Lots of season and personal best marks despite being very windy. Shaelan had a nice win in the 6k after staying patient for 3000 meters."

ECAC Recap

Shaelan McNally continued her spring rebound by winning the 5000-meter run and adding her name to another Bucknell top ten list. The sophomore ran 16:46.43 and moved into eighth all-time at Bucknell.

"The spring season feels like it's on an upward trajectory," said McNally. "I started the season with a DNF in the 5k but was able to reset mentally and physically and run a fast 1500 at the Bison Outdoor Classic only a week later. Additionally this 5k has now given me more confidence in my ability to run longer distances. I'm really looking forward to anchoring Bucknell's DMR at the Penn Relays and the rest of the spring season."

McNally started the race with a slower method and sat 16th after the first 200 meters. She advanced to second by the 2200-meter mark. The Bison runner grabbed first 1200 meters later and held the position for the final stretch to comfortably win by seven seconds. McNally is the ninth Bison woman to win an ECAC individual title and the first since Bucknell legend Karen Hull in 2023.

"I approached this race very cautiously because I have been struggling a lot with the 5k distance," said McNally. "I treated it like a progression run so I started slower than normal and slowly moved myself up each lap, only focusing on creating distance between the other runners. I know I have good mile speed so I wasn't worried about closing the race as long as I felt comfortable through 4k."

Madison Fowler shook off her performance last week in the hammer throw at the Bison Outdoor Classic to finish third, win All-East honors, and set a new personal record. The Bison sophomore threw 56.49m (185-4) to move into third all-time at Bucknell. Fowler started slow, hitting 51.54m (169-1) and fouling twice in her opening attempts. She made the finals, mentally reset, and uncorked the PR in her first try. Her next two throws also cleared 183+.

"I would say that since hammer last week didn't go the best, I knew I really wanted to focus on the event this weekend and find a sweet spot/work out the technical difficulties I'd been having," said Fowler. "I spent most of my week practicing hammer, but it wasn't until finals today that it finally all came together."

"Maddie Fowler was also a huge standout for the throws crew," said throws coach Ryan Protzman. "She made a great adjustment, and had huge throws in the final. I think she is capable of a very big next month."

Three Bison runners finished 2-3-4 in the 1500-meter run. Grace Vives, fresh off her school record in the mile run, recorded a time of 4:32.69. Katie Moncavage finished third, running 4:35.48. Hailey Reinhard completed the trio, logging 4:36.14. All three runners added All-East to their resumes.

Justley Sharp earned All-East honors and third place in the shot put by throwing 14.52m (47-7.75) in her attempt. Sharp recorded five strong attempts and will look to break past 50 feet at the Penn Relays.

Elizabeth Bryant cleared 11-2.25 in the pole vault to finish fifth and notch All-East honors.

Bradley Weldon joined McNally in receiving All-East honors in the 5000-meter run. The Bison distancewoman logged 17:17.84.

Two Bison clinched All-East honors in the 800-meter run. Katrina Torelli continued her torrid pace of excellent placements by finishing third. She recorded a time of 2:13.98. Isabella Johns joined her by slotting eighth, registering 2:15.86, narrowly beating a Loyola (Md.) runner by 0.01 seconds for the honor.

Abigail Michaelson earned All-East honors in the 400-meter dash by running 57.82 to finish seventh.

Cami Burkett became the second Bison runner of the weekend to race 12.19 in the 100-meter dash. She joined teammate Grace Camerlingo, who accomplished the feat yesterday at the Virginia Challenge, in a tie for tenth in Bucknell history. Burkett's time earned her 17th in the preliminaries.

Virginia Challenge Recap

Alexandra Lea recorded a season best 53.21 in the 400-meter dash. The time placed the talented sprinter second at the competition and firmly ranks first in the Patriot League by 1.8 seconds.

Lea also competed in the exclusive 200-meter dash invite. The Bison superstar held her own, running 23.90 for a solid ninth place.

Noelani Sadler nearly equaled her school record in the 100-meter hurdles by running 14.14. The time placed her ninth in a crowded field.

Up Next

Bucknell completes the ECAC-IC4A Championships tomorrow.