Bucknell Bison Classic

Each year the team travels to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania to compete in the Bucknell Bison Outdoor track and field meet.  With each trip, there is never a lack of impressive performances, and this year was no different for the Gators.

On day one of the two day meet, junior captain, Bobby Over, led the gators on the track running the 3,000m steeple chase Saturday evening.  Over ran a time of 9:03.82, recording the fastest time in the nation for Division III midway through the season.  His impressive performance placed him as the top performer the event in school history, beating the previous record by an incredible twelve seconds.

Tom DeAscentis and Jack Denison

Also on the track, junior captain Mike Vlah and sophomore Tom DeAscentis ran the 1500m.  Vlah placed first among Division III competitors in the event with a time of 3:56.01, and at the same time recorded his personal best.  DeAscentis had a massive personal best with a very solid time of 4:06.06.  In the next event, the 5000m, sophomore Jack Denison cut eleven seconds from his best time to cross the finish line with a time of 15:29.15.  Rookie James Rynes joined the strong track performance list breaking sixteen minutes for the first time of his career with a time of 15:47.42.  In his first 10,000m run of the season, to finish off the first day on the track, senior Pat McLaughlin crossed the line in a time of 31:06.11 which places him for the first time on the Allegheny Top Five list in that event.

On day one in the field, senior captain Lauren Butler and sophomores Taylor Endress and Cameron Day competed in the strongest field they have seen in the javelin so far this season.  On the men’s side, Day had an outstanding series finishing in twelfth overall and second among Division III competitors with a throw of 176’.  On the women’s side, Endress rounded out the first flight of the javelin with a throw of 119’10”, a tremendous personal best which also places her second in the NCAC.  Butler made finals and placed first overall amongst Division III and eighth within all divisions with a throw of 137’.

Senior Kristin Collins

The hammer throw was the first event competed on day two of the competition.  The three competitors senior Kristin Collins, sophomore Tova Feinberg, and Lauren Butler competed in a field of strong athletes.  They threw 131’11”, 130’2”, and 128’4” respectively.

Continuing the strong performances on the track senior captain Taylor Throckmorton competed in the 400m dash sprinting his way to a ninth place overall title with a season best time of 49.17.

Rounding up day two for the Gators was freshman Ashley Krause in the triple jump.  Not wanting to be left out of the success at her first Bison Classic, Krause jumped 10.38m, which was only 4cm off of her personal best.