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Bucknell Men's Indoor Track & Field Starts 2011-12 Campaign Saturday at Bison Opener
Dec. 2, 2011
Additional Links:  LEWISBURG, Pa. – With the start of December comes the start of indoor track and field season, and the Bucknell men’s squad will kick off its campaign by hosting the Bison Opener at Gerhard Fieldhouse on Saturday. The early-season meet will feature a dozen teams from around the area and is set for a 9:30 a.m. start. The Bison Opener is the first of six meets at Gerhard this winter with the home schedule culminating in the Patriot League Championships Feb. 17-19. “Although it's the first meet of the season and very early, I have found that the opening meet is a very good indicator of how good our teams will be this year,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “We will be forming an identity and will find out which newcomers are ready for NCAA Division I competition. “Many of our distance runners will be sitting out due to the long cross country season. However, I see this meet as an opportunity for our sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, throwers and multis to prove themselves after practicing all fall,” Donner continued. “The meet is very sprint heavy with some very good full-dimensional programs from the Division I, II and III levels. We will run a few distance runners who are looking to get a nice early season time.” Below is a more in-depth look at the Bucknell men’s track and field 2011-12 season: Just like any team, Bucknell men’s track and field has an eye on the championship season. Unlike a lot of teams, however, the Bison have plenty to be optimistic about. As the two-time defending Patriot League champions outdoors and with the core of those teams remaining, Bucknell is well on its way to contending for more titles. “We return a lot of high-quality guys,” said head coach Kevin Donner. “We’re strong in just about all the areas. There’s really not a weak area. We think we have a great opportunity to win the outdoor (Patriot League) championship for the third straight year. “We think we’re going to have a lot of IC4A guys and a lot of NCAA Regional-type men,” Donner added, continuing to talk about the postseason. “Hopefully we can get more back to the National Championships.” Sprints - The Bison lose some depth in the sprints with the graduation of Marlon Woods and Isaih Bell. Back for another season, however, are Justin Hicks, Thomas McGarrigle and Kamal Riley. Hicks is the reigning Patriot League champion at 100 meters and became just the second Bison in program history to earn All-East honors in two events, placing in the 100 and 4x100 last spring. Riley was also a member of that relay team and will continue to help the squad along with McGarrigle, who has returned from injury. Jacob Eaton-Hall provided help in the 4x400 and will continue to be a factor in the longer sprints as he gains experience as will Gary Bush. The Bison also look for freshman Kevin Keller to provide depth and points in the long sprints. Hurdles - Bucknell has several options in the hurdles, the strongest being two-time Patriot League Track Athlete of the Meet Robert Arent. Arent has proved his mettle time and again at the league meet while also claiming school records in the 60, 110 and 400 hurdles. With four career outdoor league titles, he is tied for the seventh-most in Bucknell history. Dan Mularz also holds several program top-10 times. He’s been named All-League more than once and scored in both hurdle races at the outdoor championships in each of the past two seasons. Junior Jason Brown is back for another turn as well. New to the unit are rookies Matt Pozo and Christian Lupica. “We think they’re going to give us a lot of depth in that area,” said Donner. Mid-Distance - The Bison return more than one Patriot League champion at the middle distances. Senior Jordan Donaldson claimed the outdoor 800 and 4x400 titles, while sophomore Chris Sacks won the 1,000 title on his way to being named the Rookie of the Meet at the indoor meet. Both were members of the Patriot League champion indoor 4x800 relay as well. Donner expects Dennis Logan, who was an integral part of several relays a year ago, to provide more depth at 800 meters. Incoming freshman Alex Jagelsky will also contend for some of the openings in the 800. Distance - Three of the Bison’s cross country runners are expected to stand out in the long distances, including senior Dave Brown and juniors Robert Yamnicky and D.J. Krystek. Brown struggled with early injuries last track season, but should return to the lead in his new healthy state. Yamnicky returns as the squad’s top runner in the steeplechase where he just missed scoring at last year’s Patriot League meet, placing seventh. Krystek began to find his stride last season, and that progress should continue. “He really started to develop some consistency last year in the 5,000 meters,” Donner said of Krystek. “He ran a good 10K, and we look for him to be a 5K and 10K guy for us.” Throws - Although the Bucknell men might not have a true weak area, no event is as strong as the throws. The Bison will have another year with All-American javelin thrower Ted Heitzman. Before placing sixth in the nation, the current senior won the Patriot League title in the javelin and set a league record in the process. He also owns the Bucknell javelin record at 237-8. Coming up behind Heitzman is incoming freshman Laddie Trees, who recently finished his high school career with an impressive resume in the javelin. Among the other returning 2011 league champions are Leonard Joseph (hammer), Luke Webster (discus) and Tom Barr (indoor shot put). Joseph cracked the top five all-time at Bucknell in the hammer before qualifying for the NCAA Regional Championships in just his sophomore season. Barr turned into one of Bucknell’s top all-around throwers, placing in the top 10 in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin at the league meet last spring. Also back for another turn is Quinten Marcott, an IC4A qualifier in the shot put who also ranks fourth in program history in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. Jumps - Sophomores Alex Prieto and Ray Holmes both made their mark in the triple jump last season as rookies and are expected to continue to contend within the league. Holmes scored in the event at the indoor Patriot League Championships, while Prieto scored the outdoor league meet. Adding depth to the horizontal jumps is the freshman Keller, who will also be pulling double duty with the sprints. Andrew Powell will anchor the high jump unit for the Bison this year. The senior ranks fourth all-time at Bucknell outdoors and seventh indoors in the event. His strong suit, however, is the multi events. After winning the Patriot League heptathlon title last winter, he went on to set the school record at the outdoor league meet in the decathlon, an event he won at the 2010 championship. Pole Vault - Despite losing a consistent veteran in Drew Fitzgerald, the Bison have three solid competitors in the pole vault in Daniel Markwalter, Scott Weismiller and Nathaniel Witter. All three have scored at various Patriot League Championships, showing that there may be strength in numbers. “All three of them have been over 15 feet, so we have some good quality and good depth in that area,” said Donner.
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