This past weekend, members of the Track & Field team headed to Miami to compete in the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational to commence the outdoor season. 

Representing the women’s team were seven athletes across various specialties, including thrower Evelyn Bliss ’27 who made her first collegiate appearance, jumpers Lila Gaughan ’24, Karen Hull ’24 and Abby Kates ’24, sprinter Meghan Quinn ’24 and throwers Justley Sharp ’27 and Brylee Tereska ’26. These athletes secured eight top-five finishes in the invitational, along with other successes. 

In the high jump, both Hull and Kates performed strongly, securing top-three finishes: Hull earned silver with a jump of 5-7 ¾ and Kate grabbed bronze with a jump of 5-5 ¾. Hull didn’t stop there though, earning fifth place in the long jump with a mark of 18-6 ½, followed by fellow Bison, Gaughan, who took sixth place with a mark of 18-6. 

Quinn also excelled at the meet, securing fifth in the 200-meter dash with a mark of 23.89. In the 100-meter dash, the time of 11.76 also earned her tenth. 

As for the throwers, Bliss grabbed second with a toss of 173-9, ranking second in Bucknell History, in her Bison debut.

“I was very happy with my first collegiate performance. I had great competition and I competed well, hitting a new PR of 52.79 and also placing 2nd on Bucknell’s Javelin top ten list was all that I could ask for. I also know where I need to improve to help my next series of throws,” Bliss said. 

Tereska earned fourth with a throw of 143-7. In the shot put section, Sharp’s heave of 46-3 ½ earned her second, making her the highest-finishing collegiate thrower and ranking seventh in Bison history. Sharp also placed in discus, coming in third with a mark of 148-2, which ranks ninth in Bucknell history. 

Representing the men’s side were four athletes, including jumpers Tristan An ’25 and Jeffrey Cianfrocca ’26, thrower Wade Shomper ’26 and sprinter Ethan Wolford-Tuffy ’24. 

Wolford-Tuffy performed strongly in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.12, earning himself 14th place, and ran a 48.15 in the 400-meter dash, grabbing seventh place and ranking ninth in Bucknell history. 

In the high jump, An and Cianfrocca each placed in the top eight. Cianfrocca grabbed sixth place with a placement of 6-7, and An took eighth with a 6-1 ¼. 

In the discus, Shomper earned fifth with a throw of 142-5, and in shot put he grabbed sixth with a toss of 52-2 ¾. 

“Our takeaways definitely varied,” Bliss said. “It was nice to see good competition this early in the season but I think we also know now where we need to improve to fully compete at our best!”

This Saturday, the Bison head to Easton to compete in the Lafayette Invitational.