WORCESTER, Mass.– Bucknell men’s track & field produced one of its best championship performances in years by winning two gold medals and finishing fourth after the second and final day of the 2025 Patriot League Outdoor Championships.
Brian Scotto and
Wade Shomper mined the gold medals and Shomper set a school record. 18 Bison finished in the top ten and eight Orange & Blue top ten all-time marks were achieved. The two gold medals mark the first time Bucknell won multiple since 2018.
The Navy men paced the leaderboard finishing with 236 points. Army West Point placed second with 201 points, while Boston University finished third with 134 points. Bucknell (94) and Lehigh (64) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, while Holy Cross (46), Colgate (30), American (26) and Lafayette (26) completed the men’s standings.
Results
Donner’s Debriefing
“I felt both teams had a very good day two. We were clawing for every point we could get to help both teams finish a respectable fourth place. Lea really stepped things up a notch to put on a show in the 200 and 400 dashes and she correctly received Rookie of the Meet. It was great to see Scotto win the 110-meter hurdles and Shomper win the shot put.”
Shomper continued his year-long success in the shot put by winning the event and setting the school record. His record-breaking and event-winning toss of 17.48m (57-4.25) arrived in his second attempt. Shomper now owns the indoor and outdoor shot put records. He became the first Bison since Joseph Breen in 2017 to simultaneously hold both records.
Shomper became the first Bison since Connor McMenamin (2021) to win gold at the PL Outdoor Championships and he is the first Bison since Timothy Medlock (2009) to finish first in the shot put.
“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders,” said Shomper. “Today was a good day!”
Shomper headlined the shot put but two other Bison finished in the top eight. Braden Stryker slotted fourth, throwing 16.79m (55-1). He achieved the position in his final attempt. Braiden Pulver earned eighth in his first outdoor championships, tossing 16.05m (52-8).
Scotto finished second in yesterday’s 110-meter hurdles preliminaries but as the saying goes, “paper doesn’t run,” and the senior reinforced the core maxim in today’s finals. His 14.05 edged the second place finisher by 0.02 seconds. The time moved him into second place all-time in Bucknell history.
“It means everything to me,” said Scotto. “I went through so much adversity to get here. This is probably my last meet. It feels amazing to be out here and have fun. I can’t put words to it.”
“Scotto has battled injuries his entire career,” said sprints coach Richard Alexander. “To know all the work he put to get to this moment is so rewarding. If this is the end of his Bucknell career I could not imagine a better way to do it.”
Ethan Knight also achieved notable success in the 110-meter hurdles. The freshman displayed flashes of worthiness, finishing sixth, racing 14.55. The time ranked sixth in Bucknell history, a spot recently vacated by Scotto.
Knight had a good day overall. He placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles, racing 53.06. The time moved him into sixth all-time in Bucknell history.
The Bison dominated the discus throw, finishing 3-4-5-6-7. Shomper again led the Bison troops with a third-place throw of 48.38m (158-9). Keenan LaMontagne grabbed fourth place, tossing 48.30m (158-5), Stryker placed fifth, flinging 48.05m (157-7), Robert Lerner earned sixth place, chucking 47.77m (156-8), and Angelo Regec rounded out the fivesome at seventh, throwing 46.65m (153-0).
The 4×400-meter relay foursome of Preston Lubeski, Amani Brown, Colby Belczyk, and Brandon Foust won bronze, combining for a time of 3:12.89. Their speed ranked fifth in Bucknell history.
The quartet of Cooper Hyken, Garrett Backus, Luke Petryna, and Foust finished fourth in the 4×100-meter relay. The grouping ran 41.07.
Freshman Caleb Simbiri celebrated his first Patriot League Outdoor Championships with his sixth place finish in the high jump. He leaped 14.92m (48-11.50) on his first attempt. The rookie sits fifth in Bucknell history for the event.
Henry Didden earned his second top eight finish of the weekend by placing sixth in the 5000-meter run. The junior ran 14:31.15.
Lubeski placed seventh in the 400-meter dash, logging 48.10. His time slotted ninth in Bucknell history.
Ethan Pratt-Perez debuted in the Outdoor Championship with a seventh-place finish in the 3000-meter steeplechase. The rookie ran 9:22.40.
Will Feddeler finished ninth in the decathlon with 6302 points. He placed sixth in two of the final five events; the discus and 1500-meter run. He threw 33.51m (109-11) and ran 4:45.66. His point total ranked fourth all-time in Bucknell history.
The Bison will rest a weekend before competing in the IC4A Championships on May 16-18.
2025 Patriot League Outdoor Track & Field Championships Major Awards
Women’s Track Athlete of the Meet – Vera Sjöberg, Boston University
Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet – Nathan Kent, Navy
Women’s Field Athlete of the Meet – Peace Omonzane, Boston University
Men’s Field Athlete of the Meet – Robby Manse, Army West Point
Women’s Rookie of the Meet – Alex Lea, Bucknell
Men’s Rookie of the Meet – Guy Margalit, Boston University
Women’s Highest Point Scorer – Jia Anderson, Navy
Men’s Highest Point Scorer – Robby Manse, Army West Point
Women’s Coach of the Year – Mike Smith, Army West Point
Men’s Coach of the Year- Jaime Cook, Navy
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field First-Team All-Patriot League (First-Place Finishers)
American: Kaden Kluth (1,500m), Carver Morgan (800m)
Army West Point: Jacob Bowersock (Discus), Nathan Davis (3,000-meter Steeplechase, 5,000m), Javan Guevara-Cragwell (Triple Jump), Robby Manse (Hammer Throw)
Boston University: Thomas Cowan (4×800), Owen Faulha (Javelin), Steven Franco (Decathlon), Michael Onilogbo (100m), Parker Schneider (4×800), Shamiso Sikaneta (4×800), Karsen Vesty (4×800)
Bucknell: Brian Scotto (Men’s 100-meter Hurdles), Wade Shomper (Shot Put)
Navy: Jayden Evans (4×400), Peter DeJonge (4×400), Jacques Guillaume (400-meter hurdles, 4×400), Marcel Jackson (4×100), Jonah Johnson (4×100), Nathan Kent (200m, 400m, 4×100, 4×400), Murphy Smith (10,000m), Sheldon Ulmer (High Jump), William Yurich (4×100)
Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Second-Team All-Patriot League (Second-Place Finishers)
Army West Point: Shawn Carter (4×400), Nathan Davis (4×400), Joshua Duncan (4×100), Adam Furman (4×800), Jaxon Hammond (100m, 4×100), Zane Hicke (High Jump, 4×400), Kasen Jeitz (800m, 4×800), Owen Lang (4×100), Robby Manse (Discus, Shot Put), Trey McGinnis (4×100), Brian McSweeney (Pole Vault), Ammon Smith (4×800), Jordan Taylor (4×800), Collin Torres (Javelin)
Boston University: Guy Margalit (Triple Jump), Samuel Roszak (Long Jump), Karsen Vesty (1,500m)
Bucknell: Aiden Tucker (Hammer Throw)
Colgate: Cole Blair (Long Jump), Ethan Eisner (200m, 400m)
Holy Cross: Brian Fennelly (Men’s 100-meter Hurdles)
Lehigh: Gideon Coprivnicar (Decathlon)
Navy: Benjamin Countiss (3,000-meter Steeplechase), Alexander Kirkland (10,000m), Brian Schloeder (Pole Vault), Murphy Smith (5,000m), David Walker (400-meter hurdles)
Patriot League Outdoor Track & Field Championship Records Broken
*Men’s 100m – Michael Onilogbo, Boston University, Jr., 10.41
*Men’s 200m – Nathan Kent, Navy, Jr., 20.56
Men’s 400m – Nathan Kent, Navy, Jr., 46.19
*Men’s 400-meter hurdles – Jacques Guillaume, Navy, Sr., 51.21
Men’s 800m – Carver Morgan, American, Jr., 1:47.91
Men’s Decathlon – Steven Franco, Boston University, Sr., 7,289 points
Men’s 4×100 Relay – Navy, 39.64
Men’s 4×400 Relay – Navy, 3:08.11
*Denotes League record was matched