In the Herd Video Preview

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell track and field will welcome opponents from eight schools, including Patriot League foes Lafayette, when it hosts the Gulden Invitational on Saturday at Gerhard Fieldhouse. The meet will be the third this year on the Bison's home track but the first to be scored as they head into the tougher portion of their schedule. Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. Live results can be found at BucknellBison.com.

"I look at this meet as our first real test of the year," said head coach Kevin Donner. "It is a scored meet with a lot of very similar teams in terms of talent level. Our athletes seem to rise when they know the meet is scored, so we expect the individual performances to be at a high level."

Among those scheduled to compete are several teams Bucknell has already seen. Bloomsburg, Mount St. Mary's, Shippensburg and Saint Francis (Pa.) will be making repeat appearances at Gerhard Fieldhouse. Duquesne, Lafayette, Mansfield and Towson will be making their first trip to Lewisburg this winter.

Only Mansfield and Lafayette are additions from last year's Gulden Invitational field. Bucknell's men took the title at the 2012 meet with 241 points, 99 more than second-place Shippensburg. The women placed second behind Duquesne but in front of a distant Shippensburg and Saint Francis, which tied for third.

SPRINTS/HURDLES
- The Bison men's team collected nine wins at the Bucknell Mini Meet the last time it was in action. Five of those victories came at a distance of 500 meters or shorter.
- Christian Lupica was the only Bison to win two events. The sophomore took titles in the 60 and 300 meters. His time of 34.77 seconds at 300 meters was a school record. It was the second consecutive meet in which Lupica had broken a Bucknell record. He also took the program's top time in the 60-meter hurdles (8.05) at the Bison Opener.
- Lupica set three program top-10 marks at the 2012 Gulden Invitational. His time of 8.24 in the hurdles ranked third at the time and earned him the win at the meet. He also ran the then-eighth-fastest time in the 200 meters and the then-sixth-fastest time in the 60.
- Three Bison earned their first career victories at the Bucknell Mini Meet - Jacob Eaton Hall (500m), Kevin Tapper (200m) and Grant Reynolds (60m hurdles).
- Hana Casalnova was the winner in the 500 at the Mini Meet earlier this month. The junior has now placed second or higher in all four of her races this winter having also won the mile at the Bison Opener and taking second as part of the 4x400 relay at both meets.
- Jennifer Zymet has a similar trend to Casalnova. With her win in the 200 at the Bucknell Mini Meet, Zymet has placed second or higher in each of her three races this year. On that list is a 300-meter victory at the Bison Opener that also came with a school record.
- Zymet was responsible for the Bucknell women's only individual win at the 2012 Gulden Invitational. Zymet took first in the 400 meters with a time of 57.88. The only other gold medal for the Bison on the women's side came in the 4x800 relay.

MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
- There was no shortage of Bison in the distance races at the Bucknell Mini Meet, and they all seemed to stick together. Michael McGowan won the 3,000 meters and Andrew Kuchta and Eric Balaban helped complete the sweep by finishing second and third, respectively. The same happened at 1,000 meters with John Westwood, Alex Jagelsky, Zach Moon and Griffin Robertson taking first through fourth place.
- On the women's side, Katie Jessee, Alison Billas and Montana DiPietrantonio went 2-3-4 in the mile.
- McGowan has now won each of his two career races at the Bucknell Mini Meet. Before taking gold in the 3,000 earlier this month, the sophomore won the mile at the 2012 meet.
- The Bison men were virtually unstoppable at the middle distances at the 2012 Gulden Invitational. Bucknell won the 500, 800, mile and 4x800. Chris Sacks was named the meet's Most Valuable Runner with his victories in the mile and as part of the relay.

THROWS
- Leonard Joseph claimed yet another Patriot League Field Athlete of the Week honor after the Bucknell Mini Meet. The senior won the weight throw for the second time in as many meets and, with a mark of 61-1 ½, was the only competitor to come in at better than 53 feet.
- Joseph has nine career wins in the weight throw including two this year, four as a junior and three as a sophomore. He ranks fourth in program history in the event with a personal best of 63-0.
- Recent graduate Tom Barr was named the Most Valuable Field Athlete of the Meet at the 2012 Gulden Invitational after winning the weight throw and the shot put. The Bison men dominated in the shot put, taking first through seventh place. Barr is the only one from that group not to return in 2013.
- Sophia Nnadi made her Bucknell debut with a couple of top-10 performances at the Bucknell Mini Meet on Jan. 5. The freshman was second overall and first among collegiate throwers in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw.

JUMPS
- Now in the thick of her senior season, Alexandra Romanelli has five career wins in the horizontal jumps. Four of those are in the triple jump, including the latest at the Bucknell Mini Meet earlier this month. The fifth victory came in the long jump, helping her to complete a sweep in the jumps at the Bison Open & Multi.
- Freshman Devon McDonald won the high jump at the Bucknell Mini Meet, making her the first Bison to take gold in the event in a full year. The last time the Orange & Blue stood atop the podium in the high jump was at the 2012 Bucknell Mini Meet when Gabrielle Eckles-Shehadi and Laura Lutzker tied for first.
- Ray Holmes has registered an IC4A-qualifying mark in the triple jump in each of his first two meets this season.
- Often overlooked but still doing good things in the jumps is Sean Dougherty. At the Bucknell Mini Meet Dougherty recorded a career best in the long jump (20-7 ¼) and a season best in the triple jump (41-9 ¼). His triple jump mark was just one-half inch of his personal record.

LOOKING AHEAD
Competition picks up next week when Bucknell splits the squad between the Bison Open & Multi and the Penn State National Invitational. Both meets run Jan. 25-26.