Bucknell Women Tied for Third Place After First Day of PL Championships

Maria Garcia Wins Third Straight Title in Hammer Throw

Maria Garcia won her third straight conference title in the hammer throw.

May 2, 2003

Results

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Junior Maria Garcia won her third straight conference title in the hammer throw, but the Bucknell women's track and field squad will have to come from behind in order to record its fifth consecutive Patriot League outdoor championship. After the first of the two-day competition, the Bison are tied for third with Lehigh with 24 points, trailing Navy (55) and Lafayette (39).

American (14), Army (13), Holy Cross (11) and Colgate (6) round out the eight-team field.

With six events completed on Friday, Garcia captured Bucknell's lone gold medal of the day. Her toss of 166 feet, 10 inches was well over a foot past runner-up Andrea Madden of Holy Cross. Garcia, now a three-time champion, is Bucknell's only Patriot League gold medal winner in the hammer throw.

Senior Theresa Dennis was runner-up in the 10,000 meters, clocking 37:05.15. Rachel Tutmaher (36:26.97) and Alison Cole (38:47.65) also scored in that event for the Bison, taking fifth and sixth, respectively.

In the javelin, Megan Frederick placed sixth with a throw of 124' 11".

Bucknell's 4x800-meter relay finished fifth with a time of 9:19.71.

In the sprints, the Bison fared well in preliminary competition on Friday. Charity Brady posted the fastest qualifying heat in the 200-meter dash (24.96), setting a personal record while moving into the fourth spot on Bucknell's all-time list. Kiley MacDonald (25.30) and Edwina Bourn (25.58) also reached the finals in the 200 with personal-best times.

In the 100-meter dash, Rehana Lanewala advanced to the finals with a career-best time of 12.47, moving her into seventh on BU's all-time list. Three Bison will run in the finals of the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday. Bourn (14.51), Jamie Lilien (14.75) and MacDonald (14.76) all moved on.

Navy benefited from a 1-2 finishes from Lauren Baker and Tina Terry in the pole vault and Joanne Uwujaren and Michelle Schiller in the long jump, as well as a convincing win in the 4x800 relay. Lafayette scored a pair of day-one victories in the 10K and javelin.

Day two of the championships kicks off Saturday at 11:15 a.m., with the first running event slated for a noon start.