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Men Sports Track & Field Women

Webster, Joseph set new records

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

Competing on their home track, the Bison men’s and women’s track and field teams had strong performances at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Both teams had several athletes place in the top 10.

On the men’s side, Luke Webster ’13 led the charge on April 13 in the field events. Webster broke his own program record in the discus with a throw of 172-1. In total, the Orange and Blue had four throwers place in the top 10 in the discus.

“One of the biggest factors in how everyone threw this week was the weather,” Webster said. “The warmer weather finally allowed for some good, consistent outdoor training which is pretty essential to a strictly outdoor event like discus.”

In the hammer throw, Leonard Joseph ’13 also set a program record, finishing first with a throw of 209-11 feet and was the only competitor to break the 200-foot mark in the event. Webster also finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 52-4 3/4.

On the track, John Dugan ’15 finished fifth in the steeplechase in 9:13.34. Ray Holmes ’14 continued his strong outdoor season, finishing first in the triple jump with a distance of 48-11 3/4. Also on the track, Justin Hicks ’13 won the 100 m race in 10.74 seconds and finished fourth in the 200 m race in 21.42 seconds. Christian Lupica ’15 took second in the 200 m in 21.26 seconds. In the mid-distance events, Alex Jagelsky ’15 finished second in the 800 m race in 1:52.16.

On the women’s side, both the track and field athletes had strong performances. Erin Norris ’15 finished eighth in the javelin with a throw of 131-11 feet. Also shining in the field events was Abby Monaghan ’13, who finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 150-1.

Continuing on the strong performance, Emily Ando ’14 kept the Orange and Blue rolling, finishing in a tie for third in the pole vault, clearing a height of 11-8 1/2. On the track, Sasha Hornock ’13 finished sixth in the 100 m race in 12.49 seconds. In the 400 m race, Jennifer Zymet ’14 finished sixth in 56.56 seconds.

“Because of the stagger, it is initially difficult to determine how in reach you are of your competition,” Zymet said. “So your first 200 needs to be quick, because it’s too difficult to make up ground on your competitors if you start out behind.”

The teams will return to action Saturday when they host the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, starting at 9:30 a.m.

“As for our upcoming meet, there is going to be some good teams, such as Penn State, so we are looking to compete well,” Zymet said. “Coach [Kevin] Donner always says that when we compete well with good teams, our times and marks will show it.”

Categories
Men Sports Track & Field Women

Track teams finish 2nd, 8th

Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The Bison men’s and women’s track and field teams continued their strong spring seasons with an impressive showing at the Colonial Relays last weekend in Williamsburg, Va. The men’s team finished second while the women’s team came away with an eighth place finish.

The Bison men finished the Colonial Relays with a team total of 113 points, while first-place Rutgers won with 128. The top performers for the Orange and Blue were the members of the 4×100 meter relay, who finished in first place in 41.53 seconds. Also shining for the Bison was Christian Lupica ’15, who finished first among collegiate competitors in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.25 seconds, which set a career best and broke the program record previously set in 2012.

“Breaking a school record is always fun,” Lupica said. “They aren’t usually the main goal, but through trying to run fast and [achieve] competitive times, they become secondary goals that help to motivate me and are exciting to surpass.”

In the field, Luke Webster ’13 finished second in the discus with a throw of 160-2 feet, while teammate Leonard Joseph ’13 finished in sixth with a throw of 148-3 feet. In the triple jump, Ray Holmes ’14 finished second with a jump of 49-4 1/4.

For the women, many individuals and relays shined en route to an eighth place finish for the Orange and Blue. The team finished with 53 points, while winner Rutgers finished with 104. The 4×200 meter relay team of Jennifer Zymet ’14, Sasha Hornock ’13, Jess Bridle ’16 and Kim Nagotko ’15 finished in 1:41.35 minutes, which set a new program record en route to a third place finish.

“The race strategy for a 4×200 is just to have all four people run their fastest in the same race, which is hard to do,” Hornock said. “Additionally, having three smooth handoffs can make a substantial difference in the relay time.”

The distance medley relay also put up a strong performance, finishing third in 11:57.32 minutes. In the field, Abby Monaghan ’13 finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 138-3 feet, and Alexandra Romanelli ’13 finished seventh in the triple jump with a jump of 36-4 1/4.

The Bison will host their first home meet of the season this weekend at the Bison Outdoor Classic, which is scheduled to take place from April 13-14 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.

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Men Sports Track & Field Track & Field Women

Women’s track wins PL Tournament

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian Chrissy Haney '16 embraces a teammate. Her contributions helped the women's track & field team win the Patriot League Tournament.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Chrissy Haney ’16 embraces a teammate. Her contributions helped the women’s track & field team win the Patriot League Tournament.

Billy Tyler

Assistant Sports Editor

Both the men’s and women’s track teams capped off successful regular seasons with great performances at the Patriot League Championships this past weekend.

The women’s track team won their 15th Patriot League Championship in program history. The Bison entered the final day of the three-day competition with only a 1.67 point advantage over second place Lehigh. As other teams faded after multiple days of grueling events, the Bison continued to perform at a high level.

Behind gold medal performances from Sophia Nnadi ’16, Caroline Tolli ’13, Jennifer Zymet ’14 and Alexandra Romanelli ’13, the Bison surged ahead to win with a final score of 162 points, 52 ahead of second place Navy.

The men’s track team also found great success at the Patriot League Championships, finishing in second place, only 23 points behind winner Navy. The 182 points scored by the Bison would have been good enough to win two of the past three championship meets, but unfortunately Navy had too many strong performances in the end.

Fourteen members of the team earned All-Leagues Honors, including Alex Prieto ’14, Kevin Keller ’15, Justin Hicks ’13 and Kevin Tapper ’15 who all earned recognition in multiple events.

The final indoor event of the season for the Bison will be on March 1-3 at the IC4A/ECAC Championships in Boston.

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track and field grab four gold medals at Winter Classic

 

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian Nora Adams '16, Morgan Roche '15 and Emily Wakmunski '14 take off in the women's 4x400 m relay at the Bucknell Winter Classic. The Bison won four gold medals, three of them by first years.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Nora Adams ’16, Morgan Roche ’15 and Emily Wakmunski ’14 take off in the women’s 4×400 m relay at the Bucknell Winter Classic. The Bison won four gold medals, three of them by first years.

Lauren Boone

Writer

The Orange and Blue claimed four gold medals at the Bucknell Winter Classic, the last regular season meet before the Patriot League Championships. Abby Monaghan ’13 defended her weight throw title from last year, while three first-years claimed new titles.

The Bison tasted a portion of their success in the field events. Monaghan won the weight throw event, posting a mark of 51-3. She broke the 50-foot barrier for the first time in the past three competitions.

In the pole vault, Emily Ando ’14 cleared 11-3.75, tying for first place. In the shot put event, Sophia Nnadi ’16 claimed victory with a mark of 43-10. This was the first time that Nnadi broke the 40-foot mark. This was also Nnadi’s first collegiate victory.

The Orange and Blue were also victorious in the sprints. Jess Bridle ’16 took first place in the 200-meter race with a time of 26.05, while Chrissy Haney ’16 claimed victory in 1:18.74 in the 500-meter race. In the 60-meter event, Kim Nagotko ’15 took third with 7.88. In the preliminary round, Nagotko recorded a new personal best time at 7.80.

“This weekend was great for individuals, including myself, and for the team as a whole. I believe this was a high intensity meet because it was the last indoor meet for the seniors. Not only were the seniors high in spirits and putting all of their effort in their last throws, but all individuals were trying to accomplish their goals before the league meet. I definitely exceeded my goals and I’m super happy about that,” Nnadi said. “I look forward to competing in my first league meet this weekend and to finish my indoor season with the team.”

The Bison will be back in competition this weekend at the Patriot League Championships. They will defend their title on Army’s turf in West Point, N.Y. from Feb. 15–17.

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

W. track wins close contest

 Lauren Boone

Staff Writer

The Bison women’s track and field team traveled to Ohio to compete in the Youngstown State Invitational, where two school records were broken and a victory was claimed. Caroline Tolli ’13 rewrote the record books in the 1,000 meter, while Sasha Hornock ’13 registered a new best in the 60 meter race. The Orange and Blue were victorious by just 0.16 points.

Tolli led the competition in the 1,000 meter event, claiming first with 2:50.88. Close behind Tolli was runner-up Hana Casalnova ’14 with 2:54.22.

The Orange and Blue stole two additional individual wins. Katie Jessee ’15 won the 5,000 meter with 17:42.36, while Jennifer Zymet ’14 claimed first in the 500 meter with 1:16.06.

On the field, Yanelis Mestre ’15 posted a career best in the pole vault event. She tied for fifth, clearing a height of 11-5.75. In the long jump, Olivia Massey ’13 and Alyssa Cardillo ’14 took fourth and fifth place, respectively. In the weight throw, Abby Monaghan ’13 claimed fourth.

After the first day of competition, the Bison collected a total of 85.5 points. This put the Orange and Blue in the lead by 12.5 points over Dayton, who stood in second place.

The next day of competition proved just as successful for the Bison. Hornock set a new record in the 60 meter with 7.74 seconds, while Tolli claimed another first-place finish in the 800 meter with 2:13.17.

Kim Nagotko ’15 was the runner-up in the 200 meter event with 25.13. Beth Braunegg ’14 claimed second place in the mile with 5:01.12. Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 took the bronze in the 3,000 meter event with 10:14.91. Finally, the 4×400 relay team finished third with 3:52.45.

The Bison ultimately reigned as victors with a lead of less than one point over Duquesne.

“The team had a good meet overall. We were able to beat Duquesne, which shows how much we have improved as a team this season. We had previously lost to them by over 30 points. We are looking to use the momentum of this meet for the Patriot League Championships in two weeks,” Hornock said.

The Orange and Blue will compete in their last meet before the Patriot League Championships at the Bucknell Winter Classic Saturday in Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track claims three wins

Edward Louie | The BucknellianAbby Monaghan '13 hurls a weight. Her 3rd place finish made her one of the top performers for the Bison.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Abby Monaghan ’13 hurls a weight. Her 3rd place finish made her one of the top performers for the Bison.

 

Lauren Boone

Writer

The Orange and Blue split their forces between the Bison Open & Multi and the Penn State National Invitational, with standout performances including the Bison claiming fifth in the distance medley relay, Kim Nagotko ’15 taking first in the 200 meter finals and Justine Schnell ’15 winning the 5,000 meter event.

At the Penn State National Invitational, the distance medley relay team shined, finishing the race in 11:50.29 to take fifth place. Nagotko posted a time of 25.27 in the 200 meter, beating her personal best of 25.59 set the previous day.

“Running on Penn State’s banked track showed us the times we were capable of reaching and gave us the confidence needed to keep moving forward with our season. It was also a great experience to compete with such highly skilled athletes as they showed us that we were not only able to compete with them, but also beat them … This past weekend was a great indicator that we are capable of claiming [a Patriot League Championship],” Nagotko said.

At the Bison Open & Multi, Schnell took first in the 5,000 meter event (18:20.31), making it the first win of her career.

Emily Ando ’14 won the pole vault by clearing the 11-7.75. Beth Braunegg ’14 also achieved a victory with a career best 2:53.03 in the 1,000 meter event at Penn State.

As a result of her performance, Braunegg was deemed the Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career. Her times in the 1,000 meters and distance medley relay stand within the top five in the program record books.

Like Ando and Braunegg, Leah Goeke ’13 took first place in the 1,000 meters at home with  3:09.28, making it her first victory of the season.

The Bison will be back in action at the Youngstown State Invitational this weekend.

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track places second

 

Edward Louie | The BucknellianAllison Billas '16 and Deanna Godby '16 race in the 3000 meter run. Their points bolstered the woman's track and field to a second place finish.
Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
Allison Billas ’16 and Deanna Godby ’16 race in the 3000 meter run. Their points bolstered the woman’s track and field to a second place finish.

Lauren Boone

Writer

Caroline Tolli ’13 captured two victories to help the Orange and Blue claim second place at the Gulden Invitational on Jan. 19, which was the first scored competition of the season at the Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Tolli stole first place in both the mile and 1,000 meter events, with times of 5:00.25 and 2:58.12, respectively.

Olivia Massey ’13 cleared 18′ 6.5” in the long jump, taking the sixth spot in Bison athletic history. Massey was not ranked prior to the event.

“I was very pleased. I am fighting off a hamstring injury and this is my first meet of my senior year so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect at the Gulden Invitational. Luckily, many things came together for me and I was able to put forth a pretty good long jump series,” Massey said.

In addition to Tolli’s wins, the Bison collected a number of second and third place finishes. Abby Monaghan ’13 took third in the weight throw event with 52-06.00. Also claiming third was Emily Ando ’14 in the pole vault event, matching her career-best of 11′ 9.75”. Jennifer Zymet ’14 finished within the top two spots in all of her races. In the 800 meter event, Hana Casalnova ’14 finished second, with teammate Beth Braunegg ’14 following close behind in third. Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 was the runner-up in the 5,000 meter event with 17:55.13. In the 4×400 and 4×800 relay, the Bison had two second place finishes.

Collectively, the Orange and Blue earned a total of 139.5 points. For the second year in a row, the Bison took second place behind Duquesne, which claimed first with 177 points. Third place Lafayette trailed far behind the Bison, with a total of 58 points.

“We were really happy about this weekend’s performance. After pre-semester training, the team was ready to see how our hard work would pay off in competition. Competing against Duquesne and other strong schools like Ship helped bring out great performances within the team and develop our competitiveness and team unity. We are looking forward to some more strong competition the next few weeks as the season really gets rolling,” Tolli said.

The Bison will be back on the track on Jan. 25-26 at the Bison Open & Multi and the Penn State National Invitational.

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track blows away competition

By Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s track and field team dominated in its last weekend of regular-season complete squad competition, winning the Bucknell Team Challenge on Saturday. The Bison beat out top teams including Duquesne, Penn State and Towson, earning a decisive 196.5 total points, over 70 more than second-place Duquesne.

On the track, it was the 800 meters where the Bison shone the brightest. Hana Casalnova ’14, Beth Braunegg ’14 and Caroline Tolli ’13 swept the top three spots on the day, with times moving them all into the school record books in the event. Casalnova’s 2:10.70 put her third in school history, while Braunegg and Tolli’s 2.11:74 and 2:12.02 put them now at fifth and sixth, respectively.

“This weekend’s meet fit really well into our schedule. We are only two weeks out from the Patriot League Championship, so it was really important to simulate that competition with a scored meet against some really solid teams,” Tolli said.

There were also many other victories for the Orange and Blue that day, including a win in the 4×800 meter relay with a time of 9:14.76. Katie Jessee ’15 ran a 10:16.86 and marked her first career victory in the 3,000 meters, while Taylor Funk ’12 showed she’s back in peak form with her 14.75 seconds winning the 100 meter hurdles. Also impressive was Kelly Grosskurth ’12 grabbing the victory in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with a time of 11:10.90.

The Bison also performed strongly on the field, with Autumn Schellenberger ’14 and Emily Ando ’14 taking first and second in the pole vault, both clearing 11’ 7.75’’. Abby Monaghan ’13 bested the field with the discus, breaking into fourth in the school record books with a throw of 151’ 9’’. In the javelin, Kat Folger ’12 broke her way into third in school history with a throw of 156’ 6’’.

“I am so proud of the girls on this team. We are really pulling together and the pieces are falling into place. I am very happy with our overall performances; we had a lot of great throws, jumps and times,” Monaghan said.

This weekend, the Bison will split up, with select members traveling to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays from Thursday through Saturday, with the rest of the team traveling to Bloomsburg’s Maroon & Gold Invitational on Friday. This will be the last chance for the Orange and Blue to prepare for the Patriot League Championships the following weekend.

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Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track continues dominance

By Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s track and field team set many school top-10 records last weekend in the Bison Outdoor Classic, the team’s first home meet of the outdoor season. The meet was not team-scored, but it allowed individuals an opportunity to demonstrate their skills as they prepare for the upcoming league championship.

“The meet this weekend was great for the team because it was highly competitive and really pushed everyone to improve times and distances. It is also always nice to be on your own track because we practice there every day and feel most comfortable and relaxed there,” Sasha Hornock ’13 said.

The Bison started off the weekend strong at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on the track. In the 1,500 meters, teammates Hana Casalnova ’14 and Caroline Tolli ’13 finished neck and neck, grabbing 12th and 13th with times of 4:31.14 and 4:31.18 respectively. Casalnova’s time put her fourth in the school record books and Tolli’s put her fifth. Emily Liggett ’12 also stepped up in the 5,000 meters with her time of 17:05.91, giving her fifth in the race and putting her third in school history.

The Orange and Blue also had success on the field on day one, with top-10 finishes in multiple events. In the discus, Abby Monaghan ’13 and Rebecca Misko ’12 placed fifth and seventh with throws of 145’ 0’’ and 142’ 1’’ respectively. Tayler Siegrist ’13 also took third in the javelin with her best throw of the season, reaching 141’ 8’’.

On the second day of competition, the pole vault started the day off strong for the Bison, with Emily Ando ’14 taking fifth with a vault of 11’ 7.75’’, while Yanelis Mestre ’15 and Autumn Schnellenberger ’14 tied for seventh at the mark of 11’ 1.75’’. All three teammates rank in the top six in school history and either tied or beat their career bests at the meet. In the triple jump, Alexandra Romanelli ’13 also broke into the top-10 with her mark of 38’ 0.25’’, earning her seventh in the meet.

“I was very pleased with my performance this weekend since the season got off to a rough start for me. The weather also held up and turned out to be a great day to pole vault,” Ando said.

Success for the Orange and Blue also continued on the track, with Casalnova once again leading the way with her performance, this time in the 800 meters. Her time of 2:10.95 placed her eighth in the meet and moved her into third in the school record books. Hornock ran a career best 12.31 seconds in the 100 meters, taking fifth on the day.

The Bison will finish up their regular season this weekend with another home meet, hosting the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium on Saturday. The meet will be Senior Day, and the 1981-82 cross country and track and field teams will also be recognized for their 30-year reunion.

“This weekend’s Team Challenge will be a great opportunity for this team to jell and develop an identity heading into the league championships in two weeks,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “We are not quite there yet; however in a couple weeks we will be ready. We have a nice group of seniors competing in their last ever home meet so everyone will be very excited.”

Categories
Sports Track & Field Women

Women’s track takes third

By Katherine Harris
Writer

For the second consecutive year, the women’s track and field team placed third in the Colonial Relays last weekend in Williamsburg, Va. The Orange and Blue placed ahead of 24 other teams, trailing only Villanova and Delaware with 78 total points in the two-day event.

One of the highlights of the day was the impressive performances of the Bison in relays. The 4×200 relay broke a school record set in 2003 with a time of 1:41.40, taking third in the race. The distance medley also took third on the day, with a time of 11:45.88 breaking into second in the school record books.

“I saw a team that is really jelling,” head coach Kevin Donner said. “The Colonial Relays is a war of attrition over two days where many athletes need to compete in multiple events and rounds. It is a great preparation for the grueling two-day Patriot League Championship.”

Many individuals also had strong showings on the track over the two days. On Friday, Jennifer Zymet ’14 led the way with a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 56.76 seconds. Teammates Stefanie Spanfeller ’14 and Stephanie Bryan ’14 came in one after the other in the 10,000 meters, grabbing third and fourth place with their times of 38:01.77 and 38:12.11 respectively.

Success on the track continued for the Orange and Blue on Saturday with Taylor Funk ’12 coming in eighth in the 100 meters with a time of 14.94 seconds. Bison teammates Alysha Hooper ’12 and Stephanie Fulmer ’12 also had strong showings in the 3,000 meters with their respective times of 10:12.51 and 10:14.58 earning them fourth and sixth on the day.

“As the season continues we will become more confident in our races. The training is already there so now it is just time to perform. Each week, having another race or two under our belts will allow us to continue to drop our times and further our marks,” Funk said.

The Bison had strong performances both days in the field events as well. On Friday, Kat Folger ’12 grabbed third in the javelin with a throw of 143’ 10’’. Emily Ando ’14 and Autumn Schellenberger ’14 tied for sixth in the pole vault, both clearing 10’ 8’’. Orange and Blue teammates also rounded out the top ten in the hammer throw, with Abby Monaghan ’13, Kathryn Wahls ’13 and Rebecca Misko ’12 taking spots eight through ten with marks of 143’ 4’’, 140’ 2’’ and 135’ 11’’ respectively.

Monaghan led the day for the Bison throwers on Saturday with her personal best 146’ 9’’ grabbing her a first-ever discus victory and moving her into seventh in school history. In the shot put, Sarah Bella ’12 placed third with a throw of 43’ 0.25’’. Laura Lutzker ’14 and Gabrielle Eckles-Shehadi ’15 also both cleared 5’ 1’’ in the high jump, taking the fourth and fifth positions in the field.

“I was very happy with my performance; it was my season opener and I had a good series of throws in competition,” Folger said. “We will continue to work hard and stay focused to prepare to defend our title as Outdoor Patriot League Champions.”

The Bison will compete next this upcoming weekend at their first home meet of the season. The Bison Outdoor Classic will be held at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium this Saturday and Sunday.