Jan. 30, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell men's and women's track and field teams are set to travel to Akron, Ohio this Saturday, Feb. 2, for the Akron Open, after having athletes compete at both the Bison Open and Multi and the Penn State National Invitational this past weekend.

"Our team has always enjoyed the Akron Open," said Bucknell head coach Kevin Donner, "We get an opportunity to see teams from the Midwest that we normally do not see too often. The competition is fierce and the facility is great. The track is an oversize track (300 meters) which allows our athletes to get some fast times in any race with a curve. We normally get a lot of IC4A and ECAC qualifiers from this meet."

Bison Women's Track and Field Notebook

At the Penn State National Invitational, Jan. 25 - 26 -
- Junior Megan Hathaway (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Niagara Wheatfield) ran a career-best time in the 500-meter dash of 1:16.40 for sixth, placing her sixth on Bucknell's all-time list for the event. Sophomore Jennifer Pierce (Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J./Northern Highlands) took ninth with a season-best time of 1:17.32 while junior Jenny Dalzell (Linwood, N.J./Mainland Regional) also notched a season-best time (1:18.96) for 16th.
- Senior Offeibea Hanson-Hall (New Rochelle, NY/New Rochelle) ran a time of 2:16.29 in the 800-meter run to place sixth, while sophomore Allison Janda (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) ran a career-best time of 2:18.10 for ninth.
- Senior Erin Cranmer-Hart (Slippery Rock, Pa./Slippery Rock Area) led the Bison in the 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:58.21 for fourth. Senior Victoria Gilbert (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) followed in sixth with her season-best time of 3:00.47.
- Bucknell's 4x400 relay team of Pierce, Janda, Hathaway and senior Mariel Fink (Pennington, N.J./Hun School of Princeton) took 10th with a season-best time of 3:55.63.
- In the pole vault, freshman Rebecca Frey (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) took sixth with a mark of 11-6 ¼.
- In the weight throw senior Amanda Mockbee (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) placed 22nd, recording a distance of 48-2 while sophomore Chelsey Musante (Shelton, Pa./Shelton) was right behind in 23rd (47-11 ¼). Mockbee also competed in the shot put, taking 32nd with a throw of 38-10 ½.

At the Bison Open and Multi, Jan. 25 - 26 -
- Sophomore Stephanie Evans (York, Pa./Central York) ran a career-best time of 8.07 in the final for the 60-meter dash, taking fifth. Her time was the sixth-fastest in Bucknell history. Evans went on to place second in the final for the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 26.41
- Musante led the Bison in the weight throw, posting a career-best mark of 50-2 for second place and the tenth-best distance in Bucknell history. Musante went on to take ninth in the shot put with a throw of 37-2 ½.
- Sophomore Amy Mantush (Drums, Pa./Hazleton) took first in the pentathlon and compiling a personal record of 3,435 in the event (No. 3 in Bucknell history). Mantush clocked a time of 8.71 in the 55-meter hurdles (fourth, 860), posted a height of 5-6 in the high jump (first, 830), distances of 31-1/2 in the shot put (second, 494) and 16-11 ½ in the long jump (second, 606) and went 2:33.91 in the 800-meter run (third, 645).

ECAC-Qualifying Times/Marks This Season -
- Rebecca Frey - pole vault (11-9 ¾; Bison Opener/Gulden Relays)

Top-10 All-Time This Season -
- 60-meter dash - Stephanie Evans (8.07; No. 6 all-time; Bison Open and Multi)
- 500-meter dash - Megan Hathaway (1:16.40; No. 6 all-time; PSU National Invitational)
- Shot Put - Amanda Mockbee (43-2 ½; No. 4 all-time; Bucknell Heptagonal)
- Weight - Chelsey Musante (50-2; No. 10 all-time; Bison Open and Multi)
- Pole Vault - Rebecca Frey (11-9 ¾; No. 4 all-time; Bison Opener/Gulden Relays)
- 1,600 Sprint Medley Relay - Megan Hathaway, Jennifer Pierce, Stephanie Evans, Allison Janda (4:11.46; No. 4 all-time; Gulden Relays)
- Pentathlon - Amy Mantush (3,435; No. 3 all-time; Bison Open and Multi)

In the Rankings -
- The Bucknell women's track and field team was picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll, announced Dec. 6. The Bison collected 92 points with 10 first-place votes. Navy followed in second with 88 points and six first-place votes, while Army was third with 76 points. Rounding out the list was Lafayette in fourth (61 points), Lehigh in fifth (51 points), Colgate and Holy Cross tied for sixth (32 points) and American in eighth (18 points).

2007-08 Honors -
- On Jan. 22, Gilbert was named Patriot League Track Athlete of the Week for her finishes at the Bucknell Heptagonal. She won the 800-meter run, clocking a time of 2:16.64 and ran the second leg for Bucknell's 4x800 relay team that won the event in 9:36.84 to help the Bison to a first-place team finish.
- On Dec. 11, Frey was one of three Bison track and field athletes (also junior Kevin Macleod (East Longmeadow, Mass./East Longmeadow) and sophomore Kyle Anthony (Barryville, N.Y./Eldred Central) on the men's side) to be honored with a Patriot League weekly award. Frey was named the league's Rookie of the Week after placing second overall and posting the highest mark of collegiate competitors at the Bison Opener in the pole vault. She notched an ECAC-qualifying mark of 11-9 ¾, to place herself fourth on Bucknell's top-10 list for the event.
- On Jan. 15, Frey received her second league honor as Rookie of the Week after winning the pole vault at the Gulden Relays to tie her ECAC-qualifying mark of 11-9 ¾, set at the Bison Opener. Hathaway was tabbed as the league's Track Athlete of the Week on the women's side, after running the lead-off position for the second-place 1,600 sprint medley relay team, running the fourth-fastest time in program history (4:11.46) and going on to lead the Bison women in the 500-meter dash with a second-place finish (1:17.32).

Looking Ahead -
- Up next, the Bison will return home for the Bucknell Winter Classic on Feb. 9.
- Bucknell will host the 2008 Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Championships, Feb. 22 - 24. The ECAC Championships are set for March 8 - 9 in Boston, Mass., and the NCAA Championships are scheduled for March 14 - 15 in Fayetteville, Ark.