PREVIEW | Track & field heads to Bucknell for PSAC Indoor Championships

02.24.23 | By: Connor Donohue, Sports Information Graduate Assistant

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- The Kutztown University track & field team heads to Lewisburg, Pa., this weekend to take part in the 2023 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Indoor Championships, hosted at the Gerhard Fieldhouse on the campus of Bucknell University.

After a successful 2022-23 indoor campaign, 38 Golden Bears will travel to Bucknell to represent KU, 19 from both the men's and women's teams. Events will start at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, and continue Sunday, Feb. 26, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Men's Track & Field
The Golden Bears will look to push into the top five in the team standings after a seventh-place finish at last year's PSAC Indoor Championships. KU is ranked No. 10 in the latest USTFCCCA Atlantic Region poll, the fifth-highest PSAC team. Shippensburg will attempt to defend and win its 12th straight PSAC Championship

19 Golden Bears are going to represent the men's squad, including:
Michael Fellin (Sheppton, Pa./Marian Catholic) (60m, 200m)
Kyle Love (Lansdowne, Pa./Bonner-Prendergast) (60m Hurdles)
Dekai Averett (Douglassville, Pa./Souderton) (60m Hurdles)
Darien Clarke (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) (Heptathlon)
Owen Weaver (Baldwinsville, Pa./C.W. Baker) (Heptathlon)
James Washburn (Shoreham, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) (200m,400m)
Matt Salazar (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) (800m)
Domenick Wallace (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills) (800m)
Adam Brocato (Reisterstown, Md./Calvert Hall) (1 mile, 3000m)
Port Habalar (Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) (1 mile, 3000m)
Jordon Floyd (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) (High Jump, Long Jump)
TJ White (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) (High Jump)
Nate Schaeffer (Mohrsville, Pa./Schuylkill Valley) (Pole Vault)
Jason Mraz (Edison, N.J./Edison) (Pole Vault)
Gabe Sample (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) (Long Jump)
Anthony DeFusco (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) (Long Jump)
Anthony Helmstetter (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) (Shot Put)
Jacob Solonoski (Weatherly, Pa./Weatherly) (Weight Throw)
JT Tamayo (Reading, Pa./Wilson) (4x400m)

KU is also set to take part in both the 4x400m and the distance medley relay.

True freshman sprinter Michael Fellin (Sheppton, Pa./Marian Catholic) will look to make some noise in his first PSAC Championship appearance. The Sheppton, Pa., native ran the sixth-fastest 60-meter dash (6.99) in the PSAC this past season at the Bison Open and Multi, which also took place at the Gerhard Fieldhouse.

Also on the track, the distance medley relay team of Adam Brocato (Reisterstown, Md./Calvert Hall), Matt Salazar (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills), Domenick Wallace (Rockaway, N.J./Morris Hills), and Port Habalar (Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) ran a top time in that event on the same track. They ran the second-best time in the conference (10:15.98) and will look to push Shippensburg's top team for the PSAC crown.

The Golden Bears' strength is in its jumpers. Both TJ White (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) (2:01m/6'7") and Jordon Floyd (Westampton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) (1.95m/6'4.75") set top 10 marks in the PSAC this season in the high jump. Jason Mraz's (Edison, N.J./Edison) 4.60m (15'1") in the pole vault at the NYC Gotham Cup is the second-best in the PSAC this season, while Anthony DeFusco's (Douglassville, Pa./Daniel Boone) 14.31m (22'8") long jump last weekend at the KU Last Chance Meet was the third-best in the PSAC.

The duo of Darien Clarke (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) and Owen Weaver (Baldwinsville, Pa./C.W. Baker) will take part in the heptathlon, which is seven events that will take place over both days.

Women's Track & Field
Ranked No. 15 in the latest USTFCCCA Atlantic Region poll, the women's track and field team will look to improve upon its fifth-place finish at the 2022 PSAC Indoor Championships. Edinboro won last year's edition, with KU's most recent PSAC Championship coming back in 2019.

19 Golden Bears will represent the women's team, including:
Brianna Foster (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley Park) (60m, Long Jump)
Rhianne Markovchick (Weatherly, Pa./Weatherly) (Pentathlon)
Raechel Bonner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) (200m, 400m)
Kiana Young (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) (200m, 400m)
Deandra Young (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) (800m)
Anastasia Fratanduono (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Ryan) (800m, 1 Mile)
Ava Bendetti (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) (800m)
Colleen Gilbert (Willow Street, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg) (1 Mile)
Jaelyn D'Amelio (Manahawkin, N.J./Southern Regional) (3000m, 5000m)
Sophia Knerr (Columbia, N.J./North Warren Regional) (3000m, 5000m)
Mia Grassia (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) (High Jump)
Kacie Sienko (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) (High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump)
Andrea Danciu (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin) (Pole Vault)
Megan Kearns (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) (Pole Vault)
Haylee Edwards (Mohnton, Pa./Twin Valley) (Pole Vault)
Myah Davies (New Market, Md./Linganore) (Pole Vault)
Haleigh Davis (Morgantown, Pa./Twin Valley) (Long Jump)
Anna Giannotti (Lake Hopatcong, N.J./Morris Catholic) (Triple Jump)
Jaidah Mitchell (Pemberton, N.J./Pemberton Township) (4x400m, Distance Medley Relay)

KU is also set to take part in both the 4x400m and the distance medley relay.

Similar to the men's team, KU's jumpers will look to make the biggest splash at this year's conference championships. Myah Davies (New Market, Md./Linganore) and Haylee Edwards (Mohnton, Pa./Twin Valley) have the third (3.66m/12'0") and sixth-best (3.51m/11'6.25") marks in the PSAC for the pole vault, respectively. Brianna Foster (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley Park) has a top 10 mark in the long jump (5.50m/18'0.5"), while Mia Grassia (Bay Shore, N.Y./Bay Shore) has one in the high jump (1.55m/5'1"). Most impressive may be Kacie Sienko (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy), who qualified for the conference meet in the high, long, and triple jumps.

On the track, the duo of Raechel Bonner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Kiana Young (East Stroudsburg, Pa./Stroudsburg) will try to make some noise in the 400m dash. That duo both ran top-five times in the PSAC this season at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational. Ava Bendetti (Breinigsville, Pa./Parkland) also had a solid performance in the 800m at the same meet that she will look to repeat this weekend.

Rhianne Markovchick (Weatherly, Pa./Weatherly) will represent KU in the pentathlon, which will all take place on Saturday.

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