The Bison track and field program hosted nine other schools in Gerhard Fieldhouse for the indoor Patriot League Championships this past weekend. Among those schools in attendance were Navy, who won overall with a total 264 points on the men’s side, followed Army (188.5), Boston U. (91), and Lehigh (65). The Bison men trailed behind with 47.5 points on the weekend.

On Saturday, the men finished with 9.5 points, the majority earned by the men’s 4×800 event. Thomas Matsumura ’22, Alexander Simpson ’24, Brendan O’Toole ’22, and Colby Belczyk ’25 placed fourth in the middle-distance relay with a time of 7:47:43.

Robert Feeney ’24 also contributed, displaying an impressive performance in the weight throw.  Feeney beat his personal best for a distance of 58-8, the seventh-best in Bison history. “This weekend’s meet had a lot of highlights and it was great to be home for the meet… a great way to finish off the indoor season.”

“That being said,” Feenery added, “this meet definitely serves as a motivator going into training for outdoor, as it is clear the Patriot League is improving as a whole and it’s going to take a lot to score points in the league going forward.” Samuel Whittaker ’23 also had a personal best, running 14:36:12 in the 5000. 

Two Bison runners advanced in the 400, Ethan Wolford-Tuffy ’24 placing fifth (49.64) and Rayven Sample ’24 at sixth (49.79).  On Sunday, both runners earned points for the Bison men, as Wolford-Tuffy placed fourth (49.24) and Sample came fifth, running a personal best with a time of 49.46.  The two also contributed to the 4×400 relay, in which they were joined by Belczyk and Caleb Wooten ’23 to place third with a time of 3:20:16.  The distance medley (Matsumara, Simpson, O’Toole, and Kevin Boyle ’22) also found success, coming in fifth with a time of 10:14:53. 

“This weekend was amazing, a lot of people on the team had great times and marks. Breaking 50 felt indescribable. The work of Coach Alexander and Coach RC is truly the reason behind it all. I’ve been so lucky to be able to work under them and alongside phenomenal teammates. Track is an individual sport but all of the hard work is done with others,” Sample said.

“That truly is a strength of Bucknell’s program,” he added. “[I]t’s not one single guy or girl doing everything alone. We have depth in all of our events and being able to train with others who are also great athletes pushes us at practice everyday.”

Another notable mention from the day was Tristan An ’25 in the high jump.  The rookie cleared 6-5.5 to place seventh. “Heading into the Patriot League championships, our team knew that Navy and Army were the contenders to win. Despite this we wanted to try our best and do what we could to challenge ourselves. It was a great weekend and I am looking forward to seeing what we could do heading into the outdoor season,” An said.

On the women’s side, the Bison placed fourth with a total of 73 points, beating out Lehigh but finishing behind Navy (winner overall with 202 points), Army (171), and Boston U. (140.5 points). 

Karly Renn ’25 had a standout performance; the most recent Patriot League Track & Field Rookie of the Week came in third in the pole vault.  Her personal best of 12-5.5 is the second-best in University history.  Right behind her was Jenny Scott ’23, who came in fourth this weekend with a new personal best of 12-1.5.  This new record also puts Scott on the record board at the University, as 12-1.5 ties for fourth in program history. 

The 4×800 relay team (Karly Forker ’22, Mackenzie Turner ’23, Tara Lyons ’22, Anna Posh ’25) came in fifth with a total time of 9:11:14.  

The Bison saw another impressive performance from Meghan Quinn ’24, who came first in the 60m preliminary rounds on Saturday. Quinn ran 7.63, which is the second-fastest time in University track history.  

On Sunday, Quinn showed up and ran 7.64 to place first again in the 60m, winning gold for the Orange and the Blue.  She continued adding points for the Bison, competing in the 200 and the 4×400 relay (along with Jessie Castellano ’23, Mikayla Horvath ’23, and Bridget Lalonde ’23) later on Sunday.  The 4×400 finished third, just 1.1 seconds behind Navy.  

Siobhan O’Sullivan ’24 put the Bison women throwers on the board, finishing in fifth place in shot put by throwing nearly a foot farther than her previous personal best – a distance that ranks fifth on the Bison’s all-time record list. 

Michaela Bracken ’22 had a particularly impressive weekend, beating the school pentathlon record by 212 points, a record that was set by Bracken earlier this season in December. Bracken’s new records this season mark the most recent record set for this event in 14 years for the Bison. Bracken tied the school high jump record with a height of 5-8.  Of her recent success, Bracken said “this team is the most talented group of women I have ever seen. Each person works insanely hard and I am so proud to be a part of this program.”

Although the Bison weren’t quite as successful as they’d hoped, many individuals have qualified and now look ahead to the IC4A championships next weekend.