Feb. 3, 2009

Center Valley, Pa.- The final two weekends before the Patriot League Championships will be jam-packed with action. This weekend, all eight Patriot League schools will be competing. Student-athletes from Army, Bucknell and Navy all won M-F Athletic Track and Field Athlete of the Week laurels.

Patriot League Indoor Track and Field Release 2.3.09

M-F Athletic Male Track Performer of the Week

Andrew Ferrara, Army Jr., Torrance, Calif.

Ferrara placed third in the 1000m run at the Penn State National Invitational last weekend with a time of 2:29.17, which qualified him for IC4As. Ferrara was also a member of the IC4A-qualifying 4 x 800m team (7:42.78).

M-F Athletic Female Track Performer of the Week

Amy Watson, Navy Jr., Hampstead, Md.

Watson posted two ECAC-qualifying times at last weekend's GMU Patriot Games, placing second in the mile with a time of 5:00.49 and helping Navy take first place in the distance medley relay with a time of 12:07.29.

M-F Athletic Male Field Performer of the Week

Kyle Anthony, Bucknell Jr., Barryville, N.Y.

Anthony met the IC4A standard in the triple jump for the fourth-straight week at the Penn State National Invitational, hitting a mark of 14.96m (49' 1"). Anthony placed 17th in the long jump with a mark of 6.75m (22' 1 3/4").

M-F Athletic Female Field Performer of the Week

Chelsey Musante, Bucknell Jr., Shelton, Conn.

Musante qualified for ECACs and set a personal record in the weight throw at the Penn State Invitational, throwing for 17.29m (56' 8 3/4"). At the Bison Open, Musante placed third in the shot put with a toss of 12.50m (41' 0 1/4") and placed first in the weight throw.

M-F Athletic Male Rookie of the Week

Jordan Donaldson, Bucknell Fr., Saxton, Pa.

Donaldson placed tenth in the 500m run at the Penn State Invitational, running a time of 1:05.22, just shy of the IC4A-qualifying time. Donaldson was a member of the IC4A-qualifying 4 x 400m relay team, which placed eighth at the meet with a time of 3:17.59.

M-F Athletic Female Rookie of the Week

Jess Palacio, Navy Fr., Sun Valley, Nev.

Palacio nearly qualified for ECACs with a time of 2:16.59 in the 800m run, but Palacio helped Navy qualify for two other ECAC events. The freshman was also a member of the winning distance medley relay team and the 4 x 800m relay team, which won the event in 9:23.81.

Patriot League Notebook

A Look Ahead

The final two weekends before the Patriot League Championships will be jam-packed with action. This weekend, all eight Patriot League schools will be competing. On Friday, the Holy Cross men's team will compete at Maine, while American, Lafayette and Lehigh will compete at the New Balance College Invitational in New York City. Bucknell will participate in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge, while Lehigh travels to Princeton.

Saturday, Colgate travels to Syracuse for a tri-meet with Syracuse and Yale at 11 a.m. Also at 11 a.m., the Holy Cross women take on Maine, while Army and Navy renew their rivalry at West Point. The women will compete at 11 a.m., while the men are slated to start at 4 p.m. Bucknell will wrap up the Sykes-Sabock Challenge, and American, Lafayette and Lehigh will complete the New Balance College Invitational.

For More Information

IC4A/ECAC and NCAA Indoor Qualifying standards can be found on the Track and Field page on the Patriot League website at www.PatriotLeague.com.

A Few More Hurdles to Go

The Navy men and Bucknell women will defend their titles at the 2009 Patriot League Championship Meet, to be held Fri., Feb. 20 through Sun., Feb. 22 at Navy's Wesley Brown Fieldhouse.

Team Notebooks

American American competed at the team unscored George Mason Patriot Games last weekend. The Eagles will next compete at the New Balance College Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Army Army competed in the team unscored Penn State National Invitational, where junior Andrew Ferrara and senior Meg Curran qualified for IC4As and ECACs, respectively. The Black Knights will seek to end archrival Navy's win streak in the Star Meet when the two schools renew their rivalry on Saturday.

Bucknell The Bison's Jordan Donaldson was just .02 seconds off the IC4A standard for the 500m run at the team unscored Penn State National Invite. Bucknell will participate in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge on Friday and Saturday.

Colgate Curry Knox was Colgate's lone triple winner at the Colgate Class of `32 Invitational last weekend, winning the 60m dash, 60m hurdles and 200m dash. The Raiders will next compete against Yale and Syracuse at Syracuse on Saturday.

Holy Cross Holy Cross' Sebastian Fidelus ran the 800m in 1:55.50, good for first place at the Reebok Indoor Games and just shy of the IC4A standard in the event. The men's team finished ninth of 13, while the women finished eighth of 13. The Crusaders next compete at Maine on Friday and Saturday.

Lafayette Jessica Buzzell ran the third fastest time in the 60m hurdles in the Patriot League this season at 9.10 at the Lafayette-Lehigh Dual meet. Both Leopards teams came up short against their archrivals. Lafayette will compete in the New Balance College Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

Lehigh E.J. Schuck came up just shy of the IC4A-qualifying time, as he ran an 8.34 in the 60m hurdles at the Lafayette-Lehigh duals. The Mountain Hawks were the beneficiaries of strong performances by Latasha Watson and Ifeanyi Edochie, as Lehigh beat its archrival in the dual. Lehigh next competes at the New Balance College Invitational on Friday and Saturday and at Princeton on Friday.

Navy The Navy women competed at the George Mason Patriot Games last weekend, where several athletes qualified for ECACs. Up next for Navy is the annual Star Meet at archrival Army, where the Navy men have won the last seven meets and the Midshipmen women have won the last four.