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Bucknell Track & Field Claims Eight Victories, Sets School Record at Bison Opener
Dec. 5, 2009
   LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell track and field started its 2009-10 season on a high note at the Bison Opener on Saturday. Six Bison men and four women claimed individual victories at the unscored meet, while 28 more placed in the top five in their respective events. The men saw great success in the 60 meter dash as Marlon Woods (Cincinnati, Ohio/Winton Woods), Isaih Bell (Stone Mountain, Ga./Clarkston) and Justin Hicks (Wilmington, Del./Tower Hill School) finished 1-2-4. Woods' time of 6.85 seconds is a new school record in the event. Bell's time of 6.87 seconds and Hicks' 6.91 seconds also bested the previous mark of 7.01. Bell and Hicks also shined in the longer sprints. Bell was fifth in the 200, while Hicks was third in the 300. With a time of 35.92, Hicks moves into Bucknell's top five all-time. Robert Arent (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) edged out his younger teammate, finishing second in the 300 in 35.84. Head coach Kevin Donner was very happy with his team's performance, and his sprinters' in particular. "I thought we had an outstanding all around meet on the men's side," said Donner. "We are stronger than ever in the short sprints and we had a good number of IC4A qualifiers. It is a very balanced team that will continue to improve." The shot put was another event that proved friendly to Bucknell as three Bison finished in the top five. Quinten Marcott led the way with a third-place throw of 47 feet, 11 inches. Zachary Shapiro (River Edge, N.J./River Dell Regional) was fourth (47-9 1/4), and Jon Lockhart (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) was fifth (45-7 3/4). Drew Fitzgerald (Ballston Spa, N.Y./Ballston Spa) continued the Bison's success in the jumps. The junior won the high jump at 6-8 1/4 and moved into Bucknell's record books in the pole vault. With a clearance of 15-3, Fitzgerald now ranks eighth all-time at the university. The Bison also earned victories from Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central) in the triple jump (48-2 3/4), Evan Novakowski (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) in the 1,000 (2:37.19), Clayton Smith (Sparta, N.J./Pope John XXIII) in the mile (4:20.34) and Andrew Yehl (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) in the 60-meter hurdles (8.22). The women's winning ways began in yesterday's heptathlon as Jennifer Pierce (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands) earned the victory in her first career multi event. The field events were kind to the Bison as the team's three other first-place finishes came away from the track. Amy Mantush (Drums, Pa./Hazelton) cleared 5-5 in the high jump. Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) picked up her second consecutive Bison Opener victory in the pole vault, clearing 11-9 3-4. Chelsey Musante (Shelton, Conn./Shelton) also won her second straight Bison Opener title in the weight throw. With a toss of 57-7, the senior improved on her personal best and closed in on the school record by nearly a foot. Musante followed up that performance by taking second in the shot put (44-5 1/2). Sarah Bella (Mendham, N.J./West Morris Mendham) was close behind in third and, with a throw of 43-5, set a personal record with the fifth-best mark in program history. Bucknell got some excellent production from a pair of freshmen in the long jump. Olivia Massey (Westport, Conn./Staples) and Alexandra Romanelli (Galloway, N.J./Absegami) finished third and fifth, respectively. Taking two of the top three positions in the 1,000 were Allison Janda (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) in a second-place time of 3:07.24 and Caroline Tolli (Lockport, N.Y./Lockport) in third at 3:13.11). "Although we had a number of great performances, at this point we need to improve quite a bit if we want to contend for a Patriot League title," said Donner. "I was very happy with the field events considering it was our first meet." The Bison will try to use the early-season meet as a jumping off point for success at their next meet, the Gulden Relays on Jan. 9, 2010.
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