Last weekend, the West Chester University track & field squad travelled to Bucknell University to take part in the 17th Annual Bison Open & Multi’s.
The men’s 4×400 meter relay team won first place with Ricky Bruno, Chris Stancil, Alex Foulke, and Shawn Young clocking a time of three minutes, 25.47 seconds.
Miles Ransom also grabbed a first place in the 60-meter hurdles and fifth in the pole vault as a part of the heptathlon. Colin Vannicolo also participated in the heptathlon, finishing in second place in the pole vault, third in the 60-meter hurdles, fourth in the 60-m dash, sixth in the long jump, seventh in the 1000 meter, tied for eighth in high jump and 10th in the shot put, good for a fourth in the overall event.
Young grabbed second place in the 400 at a time of 50.38, 0.6 of a second off from first place.
Ghassan Dix added a second place finish in the 200 with a time of 22.76.
The women’s side also showcased their talent at Bucknell with three first-place wins. Devan Kerecman won the pole vault and Kayla Owens won the weight throw and finished second in the shot put to lead West Chester. Eisman also took first place in the 3000. [pullquote align=”right”]Our goals are always to improve and get better[/pullquote]
Kerecman cleared 11 feet, 3 ¾ inches to take the win. Owens continued the Golden Rams’ success in the field by throwing the weight 53-4 ¼ inches to win that event and put the shot 43-9 ¾ inches. Eisman crossed the line with a time of 10:13.92.
Janna Wilson placed third in the 400-meter dash, leading three teammates to the finish line, who placed fifth, sixth, and seventh. Moira Fox was fifth in 1:00.41 while Allison Lewis earned sixth in 1:00.81 and Amira Warrick came in seventh in 1:01.01.
Wilson also helped the distance medley relay to a runner-up position with a time of 12:25.41. Leigh Manning-Smith, Emily Dusellier, and Amanda Eisman made up the rest of that team. Dusellier was also sixth in the 800 with a time of 2:22.08.
West Chester’s 4×400 relay “A” team was second overall with an impressive time of 3:59.86. The Golden Rams “B” team earned third with a time of 4:06.36.
Freshman Sarah Kosenske finished with a tie for eighth in the long jump, leaping 16-6, while also placing fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 35-11 ½.
Overall, it’s been a great start for the Golden Rams who are coached by Jason Kilgore. A 2005 graduate from West Chester University, Kilgore has coached seven All-Americans, 22 PSAC champions, 24 NCAA Division II provisional qualifiers, 65 All-PSAC student-athletes, and three PSAC record holders.
“Our goals are always to improve and get better”, said Kilgore. “We would like to continue where we left off last season and improve our standards in the PSAC, but to do that we worry about the process. There are things that each athlete in each event group must get better at daily in order for the team to reach a higher finish at the PSAC championship meet.”
Gianna Seeney is a third-year student majoring in communications with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at GS789405@wcupa.edu