Category: Track & Field

Colin Fields

Staff Writer

The men’s track and field team continued its superb season this past weekend at the IC4A/ECAC championships in Boston, Mass., finishing 12th out of 47 teams and amassing a school record of six All-East honors. Among those with All-East honors were seniors Robert Arent ’12 and Tom Barr ’12.

Barr posted a career best throw of 64 feet, 2.5 inches in the weight throw to win the event. Barr’s victory marked the first ever field event win in program history at the IC4A’s and the first IC4A win since 2007. Barr’s mark also moved him into third place all time in the weight throw. The senior has already broken the school record for the shot put earlier this season.

“We are pushing each other every day and our results are showing it. Records are meant to be broken, and I hope that I have pushed and trained my teammates enough to break my record when I am gone,” Barr said.

Arent finished fourth in the 400 meters and set a new school record with a time of 47.46 seconds. Arent’s earned All-East honors for the second year in a row. Christian Lupica ’15 broke the school record in the 200 meters, finishing in 21.58 seconds and clearing the old record by nearly two-tenths of a second. Lupica also received All-East honors for his 60-meter hurdle time of 8.11 in the semifinals, which ranks second in program history. The first-year went on to run an 8.20 in the finals to finish in seventh place.

“I’m really happy with how I’ve adjusted to running the hurdles in college and, thanks to Coach Hobson-Lynch, I’ve been really progressing with the new hurdle height and have already gotten my hurdle times back to what I was running in high school,” Lupica said. “Using the record books is a great ways to set personal goals for myself, and hopefully I can keep continuing to drop my time and help the team by scoring points in the process.”

Fellow first-year Alex Jagelsky ’15 also picked up All-East honors for his performance in the 1,000 meters. Jagelsky’s time of 2:28.11 gave him a sixth place finish. Andrew Powell ’12 continued his success in the heptathlon by scoring 5,012 points and placing eighth. Powell and Leonard Joseph ’13 rounded out the list of Bison All-East honorees.

The Bison return to action later this month at the Towson Invitational in Maryland on March 31.

Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Player Profile:

Tom Barr

Senior

Thrower

Hometown: Ambler, Pa.

Major: Economics & Italian Studies

2011-2012 Statistics:

Meets: 9

First-place finishes: 10 (six in shot put and four in weight throw)

Season-best (shot put): 55′ 6.25”

Season-best (weight throw): 64′ 2.5”

After defending his Patriot League title in the shot put two weeks earlier, Tom Barr ’12 became the first Bison field event winner ever at the IC4A Championships this past weekend, recording a career-high 64′ 2.5” in the weight throw. Barr, who was part of a select group of Bison track and field members eligible for IC4As, bested his previous mark by five inches and jumped up to third all-time on the program record list during the opening day in Boston. Barr’s big win proved pivotal for the Orange and Blue squad who placed 12th in a field of 47 teams, their best finish since 2007. At the close of the two-day meet, Barr was one of six Bison athletes awarded All-East accolades.

Since joining the Orange and Blue as a first-year, Barr has shown continuous improvement throughout his career. The senior thrower has improved his shot put and weight throw distances by almost six feet over his four years and emerged as the squad’s most consistent thrower this season. During the nine meets that Barr performed in this Indoor season, he recorded at least one first place finish in his two events and will undoubtedly earn All-Patriot League honors for the second consecutive year.

With the indoor season coming to a close this past weekend, Barr and the rest of the Bison squad set their sights on defending as Patriot League Champions in the spring. The Orange and Blue are scheduled to begin their season on March 31 at the Towson Invitationals in Towson, Md. 

By Chris McCree

Sports Editor

Player Profile:

Justin Hicks

Junior

Sprinter

Hometown: Wilmington, Del.

Major: Neuroscience

2011-2012 Personal Bests:

60m:  6.84 seconds

200m: 21.88 seconds

400m: 50.58 seconds

Behind the record-breaking performances of third-year sprinter Justin Hicks ’13, the men’s track and field squad ended its 19-year Patriot League Indoor Championship drought this past weekend at Gerard Fieldhouse, beating out a talented Navy squad by 8.75 points. Hicks led the Bison with a pair of gold medals in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash events and anchored the 4×400 relay to a fourth place finish, earning him the title of Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet. In his first event of the meet, Hicks posted a program-best time of 6.84 seconds in the semifinals of the 60 meter dash and followed it up with a time of 6.88 seconds in the finals, making him the first Bison to earn gold in the event. Later, Hicks once again moved up the records book after posting a 21.88 in the 200 meter finals, the second-best time in program history.

Since joining the Orange and Blue in 2009, Hicks has continually proven to be one of the league’s most talented sprinters. In 2010, Hicks earned Patriot League Indoor Championships Rookie of the Meet honors. Last season he earned a critical gold medal during the outdoor championships last season to help the Bison earn the title.

With the indoor title under their belt, Hicks and some of his teammates will get the week off before heading off to Boston for the IC4A Championships.

By Colin Fields

Writer

The men’s track team was victorious at the Patriot League Championships last weekend in Gerhard Fieldhouse. Led by Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet Justin Hicks ’13, the Bison were able to hold off defending champion Navy and capture their first Indoor title since 1993. The Bison recorded six victories and edged out the Midshipmen by 8.75 points for the title.

Hicks propelled the Bison with two victories, one in the 60 meters and one in the 200 meters. Hicks’ semifinal time of 6.84 to put him into the finals broke a school record. Hicks then followed up with another stellar performance in the finals to record the first ever Bison victory in the 60 meters.

Hicks continued to put his name in the record books when he ran a 21.88 in the 200 meters, tying the Patriot League record which has stood since 2000. His time was also the fastest time ever run in Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Hicks also helped the 4×400 relay team to a fourth-place finish.

“Winning the Outstanding Track Athlete of the Meet is a great feeling.  It’s always good to know that hard work and dedication is paying off. I am very excited about my personal performances as well as the great team effort we saw over that past weekend,” Hicks said.

The Bison picked up a couple of key victories from defending champions Tom Barr ’12 in the shot put and Andrew Powell ’12 in the heptathlon. Barr defended his title with a throw of 55’ 6.25’’, breaking his own school record set at Youngstown State three weeks ago. Teammate and fellow thrower Leonard Joseph ’13 threw a career best 63’ in the weight throw to take gold. Barr finished second in the weight throw with a toss of 62’ 8.5’’. The Bison throwers accounted for 40 of the Orange and Blue’s 185 points.

“It feels pretty amazing to defend my title in shot put and it felt great to break the 55’ barrier. I have been fortunate to have a great group of men around me challenging me and pushing me to achieve my potential,” Barr said. “We are pushing each other every day and our results are showing it. Records are meant to be broken, and I hope that I have pushed and trained my teammates enough to break my record when I am gone.”

Powell posted a personal record time in the 60-meter hurdles and recorded the top mark in the high jump on his way to his heptathlon victory. The senior broke his own record in the heptathlon and racked up 18 points for the Bison.

Several Bison will participate in the IC4A Championships next weekend. The outdoor season begins March 31.

“If we won the indoor title, which is the harder one to win, we should dominate the outdoor championship,” Barr said.

By Colin Fields

Writer

The men’s track and field squad picked up a handful of victories and top program marks last weekend at the Bucknell Winter Classic in the Gerhard Fieldhouse. The Orange and Blue had big performances by Leonard Joseph ’13 and Tom Barr ’12 in throws, and Nathaniel Witter ’14 and Scott Weismiller ’14 in the pole vault. They were not alone; in total the men’s team took seven golds this weekend in what was the final meet of the regular season.

Joseph and Barr took first and second in the weight throw, respectively, and Barr picked up his fifth shot put win of the season just a week after breaking Timothy Medlock ’10’s school record. Barr’s winning toss of 53’ 7.75’’ gives him a ton of momentum heading into next week’s Patriot League Championships.

“I feel confident moving forward in 2012 after my victory this weekend because every time we compete, it is a test of our technique and conditioning. So far this season has shown good signs for our program and I am excited to see what happens at the league championships,” Barr said.

The Bison continued their dominance in field events when Weismiller and Witter shared gold in the pole vault. The tandem of sophomores both cleared the 15’ 3’’ mark giving them the top spot on Saturday.

On the track the Bison found similar success, cleaning up the podium in the 1,000 meters and picking up several other victories. Tyler Erhard ’14 took gold and teammates Brian Charland ’13 and Andrew Kirna ’15 finished in second and third. Robert Yamnicky ’13 took home the gold in the 3,000 and Alex Jagelsky ’15 won the 500 meters and picked up his second win in as many weeks after winning the 1,000 last weekend. Another first-year who enjoyed success was Christian Lupica ’15, who finished second place in the 60 meters with a personal best time of 6.99 seconds, the program’s all-time fourth-best mark.

“Running a PR is always a great feeling and it definitely was for me this weekend. Using the record books is always a great way to set personal goals for myself and hopefully I can keep continuing to drop my 60 time and help the team by scoring points in the process,” Lupica said.

The Bison will compete in the Patriot League Indoor Championships this weekend at Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Colin Fields

Writer

Tom Barr ’12 put on a huge performance in the shot put, breaking the old school record held by Tim Medlock ’10 by nearly a foot, as the men’s track team picked up  a combined nine victories and set 19 top-10 school marks at Youngstown State last weekend.

Barr’s toss of 54 feet, 11.5 inches was good for second place in the shot put. Barr’s fellow teammates Stephen Koullias ’13 and Quinten Marcott ’13 also finished fourth and fifth respectively in the shot put.

“This current group of throwers has made phenomenal improvements this year. The sheer amount of work put into practice time for all of these men has more than paid off,” Marcott said.

Barr picked up a victory in the weight throw, finishing with a throw of 63-5 and just missing out on another personal best.

“I am happy to beat Tim’s record. Records are meant to be broken, and as a former Bison Tim left his record as a challenge for someone to beat, and I am glad that I rose to the occasion,” Barr said.

On the track, Jason Brown ’13 set personal bests in the high jump and 60-meter hurdles. Brown’s mark in the high jump was good enough for first place while his 60-meter time was good for sixth place.

“It’s really satisfying to see the hard work and specialized coaching come together to pay off like it did when I won the high jump,” Brown said.

Alex Prieto ’14 also set a personal best in the triple jump, launching himself into the top ten in the record books and giving him the victory.

“It felt great to finally set a PR in triple jump. I had been struggling in the beginning of the season and was glad to see my hard work pay off,” Prieto said.

The Bison cleaned house in the 5,000 meters, taking four of the top five spots. D.J. Krystek ’13 took first with a time of 14:56.48 and Jon Dugan ’15, Robert Yamnicky ’13 and Mike McGowan ’15 took third, fourth and fifth respectively.

“It felt pretty awesome to finish with so much orange and blue up front. It is great to know you have so many guys running at similar levels because we can all help each other out on the track and during training,” McGowan said. “The upperclassmen have really been great role models for me by showing me how to excel in the sport. They are teaching me that training does not start and end at the official practice time, but starts from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed.”

The Bison resume action at the Bucknell Winter Classic on Saturday at Gerhard Fieldhouse. The Winter Classic marks the final meet before the Patriot League Indoor Championships.