|
Bison Women's Track & Field Opens Patriot League Championships with Three Wins, Two Records
May 4, 2012
WORCESTER, Mass. - Three individual titles, a school record and a Patriot League record gave Bucknell women's track and field the best start it could have asked for as it kicked off the Patriot League Outdoor Championships at Holy Cross on Friday. Among the event winners in the early goings were Kat Folger (Groton, Mass./Bishop Guertin), Emily Ando (Weston, Conn./Weston) and the 4x800 relay, which broke the Bucknell record by nearly 10 seconds. The Bison are first in the team standings with a slim three-point lead over second-place Lehigh after six events. The 4x800 put together the best race in program and league history on Friday afternoon and earned the gold medal in the process. The quartet crossed the finish line in 8 minutes, 44.94 seconds, shattering both records. Their time bested Bucknell's previous record of 8:53.63 set in 2001 and later matched in 2005. It is also the new Patriot League standard by 5.19 seconds, breaking Navy's mark from 1998. Bucknell has now won the 4x800 title outdoors in six of the last eight years. The Bison's other two titles on Friday came in the field events. Folger was the first to earn a win when she threw 145 feet, 7 inches in the javelin. It is the first career Patriot League gold for the senior but the second straight in the javelin for Bucknell following recent graduate Laura Rycek's winning performance last spring. Ando got 10 more points for the Bison in the pole vault. The sophomore cleared a career-best 12-1 ½ and just edged out her closest competitors by registering fewer misses. Holy Cross' Mackenzie Arndt and Lafayette's Elise Buffinton also cleared 12-1 ½ but placed second and third, respectively. It was Ando's first competition at better than 12 feet, and she now ranks third in program history. Also earning points in the pole vault was Autumn Schellenberger (Bethel, Ohio/Bethel Tate). The sophomore placed fourth in her outdoor Patriot League debut by tying her career best of 11-7 ¾. Three Bison collected points in the long jump. Leading the trio was Sasha Hornock (Dover, Pa./Dover) in third. The junior, who also advanced to tomorrow's finals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, registered a mark of 18-4 ¼. She is now tied with Amy Mantush for ninth all-time at Bucknell. Alexandra Romanelli (Galloway, N.J./Absegami) and Olivia Massey (Westport, Conn./Staples) were fifth and sixth, respectively. Hornock set a new program top-10 time in the 100 meters as well. She placed third overall in the sprint prelims with a time of 12.25 seconds, which is the seventh-fastest in program history. She will be joined in the finals by teammates Emma Rice (West Roxbury, Mass./Boston Latin School) and Kim Nagotko (Mahwah, N.J./Mahwah). Rice's career-best time of 12.32 seeds her fifth, while Nagotko is seventh. In the 200, Hornock (25.27) and Nagotko (25.41) will be joined by Jennifer Zymet (Paramus, N.J./Paramus) (25.58). The 100-meter final is schedule for 1:40 p.m., while the 200 final is set for a 2:50 start on Saturday. Also advancing to a final was Taylor Funk (Mt. Pleasant, Pa./Mt. Pleasant Area) in the 100-meter hurdles. With a time of 14.41 seconds, the senior enters tomorrow as the one to beat. The time was also the second-fastest in program history. After six events were scored, Bucknell had 44 points in the team standing. The Bison led much of the day, but Lehigh drew closer as action wore on. The Mountain Hawks are second with 41 points, followed by Lafayette (35 points), Navy (28), Army (24), Holy Cross (10) and Colgate (4).
The championship meet will continue tomorrow 10:15 a.m. with the start of the multi events. The Bison are looking for a fourth consecutive team trophy and their 13th overall.
|
MULTIMEDIA 
Photo Galleries 
Facilities Gallery 
Multimedia 
Media Guide HistoryCampsFacilities |
| 
