Update from Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach Kevin Donner -- March 2023
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Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends of the Spiked Shoe Program:
It’s hard to believe that the indoor track & field season will soon be coming to a close. Our men’s and women’s teams competed at the 2023 Patriot League Championships last weekend at the U.S. Naval Academy, and several of our student-athletes will head to Boston this weekend to compete in the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Boston University on Saturday and Sunday.
Our women’s team set two new school records and tied a third on its way to a fourth-place finish at the league championships. We finished with 78.25 points and trailed Navy (214.5), Boston (146), and Army (131.25) at the completion of the competition. In addition to the school records set by Meghan Quinn in the 200, Siobhan O’Sullivan in the shot, and Bridget Lalonde in the 400 (tied the mark), we had several other entries into the all-time top-10 lists as well as multiple student-athletes qualifying for the ECAC Championships. I was very pleased with our women’s efforts, as they all put their hearts into the meet.
Our men’s team has battled injury and sickness all season, but we still had several great performances at the Patriot League meet. We finished in fifth place with 51.5 points, and Navy captured the crown with 256 points. Samuel Whittaker’s third-place finish in the 5,000 in a time of 14:17.12 places him fifth on the all-time top-10 list, while Robert Feeney’s fifth-place finish in the weight at a distance of 61-7 ½ moved him into the sixth spot on Bucknell’s all-time top-10 list.
During the indoor season we have had numerous IC4A-ECAC qualifiers and many new entries into the all-time top-10 lists. As the seasons continue to accumulate, it becomes harder and harder to make our all-time top-10 list considering the tradition of our proud programs.
Here are the new additions to our all-time top-10 lists as of February 26. You can find the list on our track and field websites at www.bucknellbison.com. Just hit the "more" key, then hit the "additional links" key, and then the "record book" link.
Women:
Name Event Distance/Time All-Time Top-10 Rank
Bridget Lalonde 400-m 55.33 T1st
(previous record also held by Jess Bridle, set in 2016)
Bridget Lalonde 200-m 24.92 6th
Bridget Lalonde 300-m 41.59 7th
Allison Cooke 300-m 41.79 9th
Katie Loew 400-m 56.85 6th
Anna Posh 800-m 2:12.95 6th
Caryn Rippey 3000-m 9:50.35 9th
Ally Clarke 5000-m 17:16.17 9th
Meghan Quinn 200-m 24.23 1st
(previous record held by Jess Bridle, 24.37 set in 2016)
Meghan Quinn 60-m 7.56 2nd
Noel Fullman 60-m hurdles 9.04 9th
Siobhan O’Sullivan Shot 49-10 1st
(previous record held by Delia Sipe, 48-6 set in 2020)
Karen Hull high jump 5-7 T4th
Abby Kates high jump 5-7 T4th
Olivia Boyce high jump 5-5 T9th
Lexi Gray triple jump 38-11 ½ 7th
Lea Bourgeois heptathlon 3365 points 8th
Katie Loew, Jessie Castellano, Meghan Quinn, Bridget Lalonde
4x400 relay 3:44.99 3rd
Men:
Name Event Distance/Time All-Time Top-10 Rank
Robert Feeney 35 LB Wt. 61-7 ½ 6th
Jack Calisi 35 LB Wt. 57-10.25 9th
Brandon Foust 60-m 6.91 6th
Cooper Hyken 60-m 6.92 T7th
Brian Scotto 60-m hurdles 8.15 5th
Franco Perinotti pole vault 16-0.75 5th
Franco Perinotti heptathlon 4965 points 3rd
Sam Whittaker 3000-m 8:02.55 1st
(previous record held by Brian Harshman, 8:05.04 set in 1985)
Sam Whittaker 5000-m 14:17.12 5th
Sam Whittaker Mile 4:05.35 3rd
Both programs have a lot of "just misses" as well.
On behalf of the program, I would like to remind everyone that a very important day is coming later this month. On March 28-29, we will once again be in a battle with all the other athletic and recreation programs at Bucknell during the One Herd One Day giving challenge. The event has been critical in terms of raising funds for the program, and every year our program has ranked near the top in terms of support once the 24 hours have been completed.
This year we hope the Spiked Shoe program can once again set new donor and dollar goals! Last year we established our high-water mark for donors and dollars raised at 375 and $96,755. Please help us spread the word to family and friends, and if you are able, support the young men and women in the program that day. Your support allows us to continue carrying large squads and providing competitive opportunities to everyone on our roster as well as having top-notch equipment and apparel for training and competition.
A weekend that I am very excited about is our Annual Bison Outdoor Classic which will take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 14-15-16 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. All of the throwing events will take place at our new state-of-the-art throws facility at West Fields. This meet is one of the largest and most competitive meets on the east coast with approximately 80 schools, post-collegiate, and even a few professional athletes competing. The Heptathlon (women) and Decathlon (men) will start on Friday afternoon and conclude Saturday morning to early afternoon. We will have a few field events on Saturday afternoon and if you like distance events, the 1500-meters, 3000-meter steeplechase, 5000-meters, and 10,000-meters will start running laps at 1:30 p.m. and the real fast sections will be under the lights and end at approximately 11 p.m. On Sunday, we will have the rest of the field events as well as all the sprinting, hurdles, and middle-distance events including the 800-meters, mile, and 3000-meter run from 10:30 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m.
For the second year in a row, we will host a tailgate for all alumni of the track and field/cross country program with free food and drinks throughout the entirety of the meet on Saturday and Sunday at a tent just outside of the stadium. As of today, I am expecting over 100 alumni from different era's of the program to be in attendance which should be a very fun time. Book your hotel rooms right now as it will be a very busy weekend on campus with over 80 schools attending.
I hope to see a big group of alumni at the Bison Outdoor Classic Tailgate on April 15-16!!
As always, thank you for all or your support of our program and the men and women who work very hard to represent it.
Kevin Donner
Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
Bucknell University
kdonner@bucknell.edu
Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.
It’s hard to believe that the indoor track & field season will soon be coming to a close. Our men’s and women’s teams competed at the 2023 Patriot League Championships last weekend at the U.S. Naval Academy, and several of our student-athletes will head to Boston this weekend to compete in the IC4A/ECAC Championships at Boston University on Saturday and Sunday.
Our women’s team set two new school records and tied a third on its way to a fourth-place finish at the league championships. We finished with 78.25 points and trailed Navy (214.5), Boston (146), and Army (131.25) at the completion of the competition. In addition to the school records set by Meghan Quinn in the 200, Siobhan O’Sullivan in the shot, and Bridget Lalonde in the 400 (tied the mark), we had several other entries into the all-time top-10 lists as well as multiple student-athletes qualifying for the ECAC Championships. I was very pleased with our women’s efforts, as they all put their hearts into the meet.
Our men’s team has battled injury and sickness all season, but we still had several great performances at the Patriot League meet. We finished in fifth place with 51.5 points, and Navy captured the crown with 256 points. Samuel Whittaker’s third-place finish in the 5,000 in a time of 14:17.12 places him fifth on the all-time top-10 list, while Robert Feeney’s fifth-place finish in the weight at a distance of 61-7 ½ moved him into the sixth spot on Bucknell’s all-time top-10 list.
During the indoor season we have had numerous IC4A-ECAC qualifiers and many new entries into the all-time top-10 lists. As the seasons continue to accumulate, it becomes harder and harder to make our all-time top-10 list considering the tradition of our proud programs.
Here are the new additions to our all-time top-10 lists as of February 26. You can find the list on our track and field websites at www.bucknellbison.com. Just hit the "more" key, then hit the "additional links" key, and then the "record book" link.
Women:
Name Event Distance/Time All-Time Top-10 Rank
Bridget Lalonde 400-m 55.33 T1st
(previous record also held by Jess Bridle, set in 2016)
Bridget Lalonde 200-m 24.92 6th
Bridget Lalonde 300-m 41.59 7th
Allison Cooke 300-m 41.79 9th
Katie Loew 400-m 56.85 6th
Anna Posh 800-m 2:12.95 6th
Caryn Rippey 3000-m 9:50.35 9th
Ally Clarke 5000-m 17:16.17 9th
Meghan Quinn 200-m 24.23 1st
(previous record held by Jess Bridle, 24.37 set in 2016)
Meghan Quinn 60-m 7.56 2nd
Noel Fullman 60-m hurdles 9.04 9th
Siobhan O’Sullivan Shot 49-10 1st
(previous record held by Delia Sipe, 48-6 set in 2020)
Karen Hull high jump 5-7 T4th
Abby Kates high jump 5-7 T4th
Olivia Boyce high jump 5-5 T9th
Lexi Gray triple jump 38-11 ½ 7th
Lea Bourgeois heptathlon 3365 points 8th
Katie Loew, Jessie Castellano, Meghan Quinn, Bridget Lalonde
4x400 relay 3:44.99 3rd
Men:
Name Event Distance/Time All-Time Top-10 Rank
Robert Feeney 35 LB Wt. 61-7 ½ 6th
Jack Calisi 35 LB Wt. 57-10.25 9th
Brandon Foust 60-m 6.91 6th
Cooper Hyken 60-m 6.92 T7th
Brian Scotto 60-m hurdles 8.15 5th
Franco Perinotti pole vault 16-0.75 5th
Franco Perinotti heptathlon 4965 points 3rd
Sam Whittaker 3000-m 8:02.55 1st
(previous record held by Brian Harshman, 8:05.04 set in 1985)
Sam Whittaker 5000-m 14:17.12 5th
Sam Whittaker Mile 4:05.35 3rd
Both programs have a lot of "just misses" as well.
On behalf of the program, I would like to remind everyone that a very important day is coming later this month. On March 28-29, we will once again be in a battle with all the other athletic and recreation programs at Bucknell during the One Herd One Day giving challenge. The event has been critical in terms of raising funds for the program, and every year our program has ranked near the top in terms of support once the 24 hours have been completed.
This year we hope the Spiked Shoe program can once again set new donor and dollar goals! Last year we established our high-water mark for donors and dollars raised at 375 and $96,755. Please help us spread the word to family and friends, and if you are able, support the young men and women in the program that day. Your support allows us to continue carrying large squads and providing competitive opportunities to everyone on our roster as well as having top-notch equipment and apparel for training and competition.
A weekend that I am very excited about is our Annual Bison Outdoor Classic which will take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 14-15-16 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. All of the throwing events will take place at our new state-of-the-art throws facility at West Fields. This meet is one of the largest and most competitive meets on the east coast with approximately 80 schools, post-collegiate, and even a few professional athletes competing. The Heptathlon (women) and Decathlon (men) will start on Friday afternoon and conclude Saturday morning to early afternoon. We will have a few field events on Saturday afternoon and if you like distance events, the 1500-meters, 3000-meter steeplechase, 5000-meters, and 10,000-meters will start running laps at 1:30 p.m. and the real fast sections will be under the lights and end at approximately 11 p.m. On Sunday, we will have the rest of the field events as well as all the sprinting, hurdles, and middle-distance events including the 800-meters, mile, and 3000-meter run from 10:30 a.m. to approximately 6 p.m.
For the second year in a row, we will host a tailgate for all alumni of the track and field/cross country program with free food and drinks throughout the entirety of the meet on Saturday and Sunday at a tent just outside of the stadium. As of today, I am expecting over 100 alumni from different era's of the program to be in attendance which should be a very fun time. Book your hotel rooms right now as it will be a very busy weekend on campus with over 80 schools attending.
I hope to see a big group of alumni at the Bison Outdoor Classic Tailgate on April 15-16!!
As always, thank you for all or your support of our program and the men and women who work very hard to represent it.
Kevin Donner
Head Cross Country/Track & Field Coach
Bucknell University
kdonner@bucknell.edu
Past Newsletters:
Bison Club support is the driving force behind Bucknell Athletics. Your donations directly impact the holistic development of student-athletes from 27 Division I varsity programs who are building a foundation at Bucknell to become leaders and difference-makers around the globe. Make your gift online, or call 570-577-1771 to support your favorite Bison team today.