By Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s track and field team put up some impressive performances in the Bucknell Winter Classic on Saturday. With only a week until the Patriot League Championships, this meet was an important last stepping stone for many of the Bison.

“Some people used this past weekend to rest for Leagues, others used it as a tuneup, others were competing for a spot on the Leagues roster and others were competing in their last indoor meet and hoping for good performances,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

With seven gold medals and many other top finishes, the Orange and Blue looked as strong as ever while competing on their home turf. Abby Monaghan ’13, Sarah Bella ’12 and Kathryn Wahls ’13 swept the top three spots in the weight throw. Monaghan’s first place throw of 53’ 2.5’’ also moved her into sixth all-time in the school record books, and Bella also placed first in the shot put.

The Bison continued to best the field as Alexandra Romanelli ’13 took first place in the triple jump. In the pole vault, Emily Ando ’14 took first, while Rebekka Vuojolainen ’15 and Autumn Schnellenberger ’14 were part of a three-way tie for second. With their vaults, both Ando and Vuojolainen made the record books, with Ando tying for fifth all-time and Vuojolainen making an appearance at eighth.

Along with the impressive field performances, the Orange and Blue also had many top finishers in the track events. Kylie Pearse ’15 won the 1,000 meters, followed closely by teammate Kady Weisner ’14 in second. Hana Casalnova ’14 took the gold in the 500 meters and the Bison swept the top three spots in the 200 meters with Jennifer Zymet ’14, Kim Nagotko ’15 and Sasha Hornock ’13 leading the way.

“This past weekend we had a lot of different missions and many of our goals were accomplished,” Donner said. “I was very pleased with the results and now we look forward to a great Patriot League Championship.”

The Bison host the Patriot League Championships in Gerhard Fieldhouse starting today at 12 p.m. through Sunday.