Men and Women Both Vie for Four Top Finishes at Bucknell Heptagonal
Lewisburg, Pa. – The Saint Francis men’s and women’s track and field team traveled westward and stayed in-state to participate in the Bucknell Heptagonal, where the men’s squad finished second out of six teams and the women finished third out of six. Granted, the Red Flash did not finish in first place as a team, yet they enjoyed four first-place finishes from both the men’s and women’s team, eight in all. The men pulled down two second-place finishes, one third-place award, three fourth-place finishers, and five fifth-place finishes where as the women walked away with four wins, three second-place finishes, two third-place marks, one fourth-place seed and two fifth-place honors.
Starting with the field events, an area where both sides of the Flash have thrived, senior Kora Hardy (Salisbury, Md./James M. Benett) put some points on the board in the first affair of the day. Hardy placed fifth for her leap of 5.21m in the women’s long jump. For the men, senior Ardell Francis (Ewing, N.J./Pennsbury) placed two back from the top for his hop of 6.71m in the men’s long jump.
In the triple jump, junior Denis Eradiri (Sofia, Bulgaria/Vladislav Gramatik 73) picked up two points for his fifth-place effort of 13.56m.
Turning to the heavy section of the competition, both the men and women dominated the entire throwing segment of the afternoon, taking first in both the weight throw and the shot put. Junior Karl Dewayngaret (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank) bested his buddy junior Ben Maderia (Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills) in the 35-lb. throw competition. Madeira’s heave of 17.26 feel just short of Dewayngaret’s first-place toss of 18.13m. Senior Jordan Hess (McConnellsburg, Pa./McConnellsburg) pulled in some points at fifth place with his throw of 15.61m. The women rose to the top in their 20-lb. tossing competition, claiming first, second and third place for the Red Flash. Senior Kayla Herron (Cumberland, Ohio/John Glenn), one week separated from breaking a school-record, earned first place with a monumental hurl of 17.38m. Junior Elise Pearce (Cherry Tree, Pa./Purchase Line) nipped at Herron’s heels with her effort of 15.74m, slotting her in second. Senior Lisa Morse (Freedom, N.Y./Pioneer Central) rounded out the dominating performance with a third-place throw of 15.7m. Senior Jenna Brian (Niles, Ohio/John F. Kennedy) chimed in with a nice pitch of 14.53m, inking her in seventh.
"Kayla's and Lisa's senior leadership has earned us many points in our past two indoor meets. If their performances remain at the same level during the Penn State Nationals meet, we have a great chance of emerging victoriously," stated first-year head coach Felix Moreno.
More supremacy ascended from the men’s shot put efforts as Jordan Hess claimed first-place for the Flash with a 15.96m try. Ben Madeira finished one-hundredth of a meter out of the top three, earning fourth with a pitch of 15.06m. Karl Dewayngert produced points with his fifth-place fling of 14.93m. For the women’s shot put, Lisa Morse declared first place after she lobbed the pellet 14.54m. Kayla Herron knocked down another top three finish, this time throwing a third-place stone for 12.64m.
Freshman Elizabeth DeMedal flung herself over the 10’7 mark in the pole vault event, landing the Flash eight points for her second-place coil. SFU’s other freshman springer, Lisa Cicerchi represented the Flash with her T-eighth place vault of 9’3.
"DeMedal's clearance was a personal best, handling the pressure of the collegiate ranks quite well. She has certainly adjusted to the new training and it has paid off as you can see in today's performance," said Moreno.
Saint Francis junior William Velez (Staten Island, N.Y./Benedictine) rose to the occasion for the Flash once again, producing another first-place merit with his clearing of 6’7 in the men’s high jump event.
"This was a stellar jump by our team captain and his reslience will be leaned upon heavily next week," Moreno stated.
Shifting gears to the track, sophomore Sarah Harmon (Quantico, Md./James M. Benett) put some points on the board for the Flash with her fourth-place time of 8.85 in the 55-meter hurdles. Freshman Jacob Librizzi placed fourth, as well, with his time of 7.78 in the men’s competition.
Without the hurdles in the way of the Flash, SFU dominated the 55-meter dash, prevailing in both the men’s and women’s battle. Kora Hardy took down first-place by bolting for a time of 7.39. Senior sprinter James Bush (Baltimore, Md./St. Francis Prep) reciprocated a winning time in 6.46m. Finishing closely behind Bush was Denis Eradiri in fifth with a mark of 6.59.
"James has been reeling off strong performances in the 55. This is his second consecutive victory in the 55 and his dedication in practice is showing in competition," Moreno proudly declared.
In the distance events, sophomore harrier Anna Hoffman (Enon Valley, Pa./Mohawk) trounced the competition in the mile, besting the nearest competitor by almost eight seconds. Hoffman claimed one of the women’s first-place finishes by trotting the mile in 5:04.94. Senior John Balouris (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler) finished in seventh with a time of 4:25.98; the fastest for the men at Bucknell.
"Anna was extremely impressive in the mile event today. She is really coming on strong after a great cross-country season and I anticipate a great 5K race from her down at the Penn State Nationals next week," Moreno asserted.
Junior Jorden Davis (Mississauga, Ontario/Loyola Catholic) declare second-place in the 400-meter with his pace of 49.06. Senior Ian Butcher (Georgetown, Ontario/Christ the King) just finished out of scoring, finishing with a seventh-place time of 51.28.
Kora Hardy kept her streak of placing alive in the women’s 200-meter dash, rushing around half the track in 26.57 for second-place, just one-tenth of a second off of another victory. Jorden Davis took one of SFU’s first place finishes for the men in the 200-meter by scampering for a 22.24 time. James Bush was close behind in fifth place, bolting for a time of 22.60.
In the women’s 4x800-meter relay, the quarter of senior Antonia Artise (North East, Pa./Iroquois), junior Sarah Rutledge (Parsippany, N.J./Parsippany), sophomore Allyson Sheehan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), and newcomer Sarah Grossi hauled in fifth-place for the Flash with a combined time of 10:33.84.
The best placing for the men in regards to the relay contests was the 4x400-meter relay. James Bush, Ian Butcher, Jorden Davis, and sophomore Stephen Johnson (Bristol, Pa./Bristol) grossed four points with their fourth-place time of 3:27.18.
The women finished in third place overall with 84 total points in 18 scored events. Bucknell walked away with the meet, earning 171 cumulative points. The men were bettered by Bucknell as well, putting up 94 points to their 171.
"Once again, all aspects performed very well. Every week, our upperclassmen are taking a more hands-on approach and it's really starting to pay off. This is something our younger participants must take note of to achieve success for years to come," SFU's coach commanded.
The Red Flash travel back to Happy Valley to partake in the Penn State National at Penn State after competing there just one week ago. The contest is a two-day event, commencing on January 25 and ceasing on the 26th.