Mount Track Opens Season Strong at Bucknell Gulden Relays

Audrey Owens

On Jan. 25, the Track and Field team attended the Bucknell Gulden Relays, coming back from winter break with a bang. The meet hosted at Bucknell University proved to be prosperous, with many athletes setting personal records and plenty more feeling positive about their start to the indoor season.  

Jumping straight back into competing after winter break is tough–track athletes have to contend with bad weather, a lack of indoor facilities and a month apart from training with the team. Despite these challenges, the performances at Bucknell prove that Mount Track athletes are willing to put in the work even when it’s difficult, with four individuals hitting PRs.  

• Among the four athletes with standout performances is Kidus Chanyalew (C’28), who competed in the mile and the 4x400-meter relay. Chanyalew’s individual performance in the mile was a three second PR, as he went from a previous time of 4 minutes, 46 seconds down to a new best of 4 minutes, 43.23 seconds.  

As substantial an improvement as this was, Chenyalew still had the feeling he “could have done better,” but ultimately “felt good” after the race. “I learned what I had to improve, so I’m just going to take it on to next week,” he said, making it clear his intent to strive for continual progress in future races.  

The other PRs came from athletes Alexis Zimmerman (C’26), Audrey Musmeci (C’29) and Nico DiGiacomo (C’29). Alexis Zimmerman ran 8.19 seconds in the 60-meter dash, boasting a competitive time in an event she typically doesn’t run, in addition to opening up her main event, the 400-meter dash.  

Musmeci competed in a longer distance: the 3000-meter. She experienced a huge jump, running a little over thirty-three seconds faster than her previous best. Freshman DiGiacomo also had a successful weekend, setting his personal record of 9.06 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, which puts him closely within reach of qualifying for IC4A’s, a highly competitive meet that pulls athletes from up and down the East Coast.  

As Chenyalew puts it best, “I feel like if I PR this early, I’m bound to have a great season!”  

The Mountaineers continued their success at their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship meet on the weekend of Feb. 21, including multiple gold medal performances.