Feb. 22, 2008

Results

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Sophomore Courtney Warren (Montour Falls, N.Y./Watkins Glen) won Bucknell's first individual title since 2006, helping the Bison swimming and diving team finish day two of the Patriot League Championship third out of eight teams. Bucknell will enter the final day of competition with 412.5 points, while Colgate sits in first with 489 and Navy is second with 444.5.

Warren was first to the wall in the 100 back with a time of 57.07 seconds, good for second on the program's all-time list. Sophomore Abigail Atkinson (Newton, Conn./Newtown) qualified out of the preliminaries with a time of 59.09, landing her eighth on the Bison top-10. She later placed sixth in the final with a time of 59.32.

Sophomore Lauren Russell (Lower Burrell, Pa./Burrell) finished third in the 400 IM with the fifth-fastest time in Bucknell history, 4:32.31. Freshmen Macey Keath (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) and Sinead O'Dwyer (Green River, Wyo./The Peddie School (N.J.)) qualified for the "A" final as well. Keath advanced out of the preliminaries with a time of 4:35.07, which ranks 10th in the school's record book, and went on to take sixth in the final (4:35.44). O'Dwyer recorded a time of 4:36.71 to place seventh, while sophomore Abigail Paules (York, Pa./Baltimore Lutheran) finished 10th (4:27.28).

Freshman Molly Goebel (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) posted the program's seventh-fastest all-time finish in the 100 fly, qualifying for the finals in 58.31. Goebel then claimed sixth in the final with a time of 58.87. Sophomore Sarah Pease (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin Senior High) recorded the No. 10 time in Bison history, 58.95, to place 12th and freshman Laura Twichell (Fayetteville, N.Y./Fayetteville-Manlius) turned in a time of 1:00.70, which was good for 16th.

In the 200 free final, sophomore Megan Mongan (Malvern, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) finished fifth with a time of 1:53.30 to improve upon her personal best that already ranked fifth in the program's top-10. Senior Kristen Skroski (North Haven, Conn./Hopkins) followed in sixth (1:53.51) and freshman Katie John (Barrington, R.I./Barrington) came in 15th (1:56.49).

Junior Kelly Morris (Metuchen, N.J./Metuchen) won the "B" final of the 100 breast as she was first to the wall with a time of 1:06.86. Junior Nikki Seaman (Cleveland, Ohio/The Hawken School) placed 12th in 1:07.95 and Keath was 15th (1:08.66) after posting a time of 1:07.65 in the preliminaries, good for sixth all-time.

Bucknell's 200 medley relay squad of Warren, Morris, Goebel and Mongan collected a runner-up finish in the event, registering a time of 1:45.89, which ranks fifth in the program's record book. In the 800 free relay, Skroski, Pease, Atkinson and John claimed fourth with the eighth-best time in program history, 7:46.99.

All three Bison divers qualified for Saturday's one-meter final. Sophomore Rebecca Bersani (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) placed fourth in the preliminaries with a score of 222.60, sophomore Allison FitzPatrick (Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal) followed in fifth (219.00) and sophomore Eliza Massie (Rochester, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) was seventh (198.85).

The Bison will continue to compete in the Patriot League Championships, tomorrow, Feb. 23, with day three preliminaries that will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the 200 backstroke.