Track and Field Teams Take Part in Bison Open and Multis

LEWISBURG, Pa. – Competing for the second straight weekend, the University of Bridgeport's men's and women's indoor track and field teams took part in Bucknell's Bison Open and Multis on Friday and Saturday.

The Purple Knights were led by a pair of standout performances in multi events—both on the men's and women's sides.

For the men, freshman John Panzera provided a terrific highlight with a fifth-place finish in the heptathlon. Panzera's two-day score of 4117 is currently slotted fourth in the East Region this season.

Panzera was positioned fifth after Friday's events and finished it out in fifth on Saturday. The Friday highlights featured a collegiate-best mark in the high jump (1.87m) while tossing a PR of 10.44m in the shot put.

Panzera followed that up with a huge improvement in the pole vault from last weekend's results. Panzera's hard work resulted in a PV score of 3.33m on Saturday.

In addition to Panzera's efforts, Damian Coles also posted a PR on the men's side. The Philadelphia native ran to a personal-best mark of 23.86 in the 200-meter.

For the women, sophomore Emelia Russell was once again sensational. The England native finished second in the pentathlon with a mark of 3055, which is now the highest score in the East Region.

Russell was particularly stout in the 800-meter as she raced to an indoor PR of 2:26.24, which was more than nine seconds faster than any other competitor.

Russell also topped the field in the shot put with a toss of 10.66m. Following the pentathlon, Russell clocked a lifetime-best time in the 400-meter with a mark of 62.9 seconds.

Freshman Kesiri Gonzalez also showed out on the women's side with an improvement in the 200-meter. The Stratford native sprinted to a time of 28.51 which was more than two-tenths faster than last Friday at SCSU.

UP NEXT
The Purple Knights will compete at the Valentine Invite at Boston University on Feb 9-10.