Update from Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Kevin Donner -- December 2023

Hello everyone,

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

Cross Country officially ended with some solid performances at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional on November 10 at Lehigh. Our women's team finished three spots above our regional ranking with a 9th-place finish, and we beat Navy for the first time since 2019 as they were 10th. Our men's goal was a top-10 finish, and although we were only 12th we were only 10 points from 10th, and we were ranked 13th going into the race. That same weekend, we hosted our annual Blue vs. Orange Indoor Track and Field meet which came down right to the last event (4 x 300-meter relay) with the Orange squad prevailing. Although it's not a sanctioned meet, I was pleased to see a good number of performances which would have made our all-time top-10 list. Our first meet is this weekend, December 1-2, at home with the Bison Opener. If you can’t make it on such short notice, the results will be on our track and field website.

Exams are coming up for our student-athletes, and we will take a three-week break before winter training camp starts on Sunday, January 7. We will have eight days of nothing but track and field before classes start back up for the winter semester on Tuesday, January 16. Camp has always been a great time for our student-athletes, providing a great opportunity to bond as a team, hear from some great guest speakers, and of course enjoy 1-2 practices a day!

As most of you know, we will have two big alumni events this winter and spring with the first one coming up on Tuesday, January 12 for all of our Colorado alumni at Wonderland Brewing in Broomfield, Co. Food and drinks will be available free of charge from 6:30-9 p.m. and we hope to have another great turnout like last year. Please RSVP to me before December 6 so we can properly prepare our food order.

Our other alumni function is our tailgate party during the Patriot League Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Friday-Saturday, May 3-4. We are hosting the meet at home and hope you will plan to make a trip to Lewisburg that weekend. More details will be sent out in the next few months. During that weekend, we plan to honor the 1973-74 Cross Country/Track and Field Team's 50th Anniversary of our first-ever IC4A Cross Country Title plus our first-ever Conference Cross Country Title (MAC). Many also consider the 1974 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship title to belong to us, but as you know that was taken away due to the 4x400 relay being disqualified for excessive celebration. That DQ did kickstart a long string of track and field championships in the MAC and ECC. The 1973-74 team will have a brunch on Sunday morning, May 5, for all team members and their families as well as a few other potential activities that weekend. More information will be sent in the next couple of months.

I want to thank everyone for all of your continued support of our Cross Country/Track and Field program (Spiked Shoe). As you know, fundraising is critical for our success and this year is no different. It's actually very critical this year as the cost of buses, hotels, and food has drastically increased. We want to continue to run a quality NCAA Division I program that includes carrying large teams and providing competitive opportunities for everyone from the top of our roster to the bottom. To do so, we need to raise a school record of close to $300,000 this year. Please consider this when making a gift to our program.

Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams look very strong this year and I cannot wait to start the meets. I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Sincerely,
Kevin Donner

Kevin Donner
Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
Bucknell University
kdonner@bucknell.edu

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