Maria Garcia Harkley

Class:
Redshirt

Sport: Track & Field

Maria Garcia Harkley '04 is the top hammer thrower in Bucknell history and the only Bison ever to top 200 feet. Her top mark of 202 feet, 8 inches remains the school record by more than 10 feet, and she captured Patriot League gold medals in the hammer throw in each of her four years at Bucknell.

Garcia Harkley was named Patriot League Field Athlete of the Meet as a senior in 2004, and then she went on to place eighth at the NCAA Regionals and 20th at the NCAA Championships in Austin, Texas. A three-time All-East performer, she was runner-up at the 2004 ECAC Championships. During one incredible run in the spring of her senior year, Garcia Harkley broke the school record in the hammer throw at five consecutive meets. Earlier that year, she also shattered the school mark in the indoor 35-pount weight throw, a record that has since been surpassed. She finished second, third and fourth in the weight throw at the Patriot League Indoor Championshjps.

A member of the Patriot League 25th Anniversary Team, Garcia Harkley came close to making the 2004 Olympic Team from her native Dominican Republic.

(Hall of Fame Class of 2017)