Hot race Saturday for Bucknell sophomore Shaelan McNally from Paul VI in her first collegiate 1,500-meter run.
McNally, who didn’t compete outdoors as a freshman last spring, ran 4:25.83 and placed 7th out of 83 runners in a loaded field on her home track at the Bison Outdoor Classic at Christy Matthewson Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.
That converts to a 4:47.1 full mile. Her mile PR is 4:49.32 from the Ott Center in February so this is equivalent to a two-second PR.
McNally’s time is 4th-fastest in Bucknell history. Junior Katrina Torelli from Harrison, N.Y., ran 4:24.81 in the same race, and those are the fastest times by Bucknell women in eight years.
McNally closed in 2:20.76 for her final 800 meters and 69.46 for her final 400.
Her time is 11th-fastest all-time by South Jersey high school alums and fastest by a Paul VI woman in 43 years, since Westmont native Doreen Startare ran 4:16.96 for Penn State and placed 5th in the 1983 NCAA Championships in Houston.
McNally’s time is No. 8 so far this year in the Patriot League. It’s fastest by a South Jersey woman while still in college since Buena’s Kristin Siegle from Rider ran a PR 4:22.45 at the 2021 NCAA East Prelims in Jacksonville in her final collegiate race.
All-Time South Jersey 1,500-Meter List
4:03.49 … Erin Donohue [Haddonfield], Aug. 29, 2010, Rieti, Italy
4:08.09 … Renee Tomlin [Ocean City], May 17, 2013, Los Angeles
4:10.77 … Marielle Hall [Haddonfield], July 21, 2020, Portland, Ore.
4:12.29 … Greta Feldman [Haddonfield], June 29, 2012, Eugene, Ore.
4:16.41 … Erika Kemp [Rancocas Valley], May 21, 2021, New York
4:16.96 … Doreen Startare [Paul VI], June 3, 1983, Houston
4:19.34 … Michelle Rowen [Washington Twp.], July 27, 1983, Sherbrooke, Canada
4:22.45 … Kristin Siegle [Buena], May 27, 2021 Jacksonville, Fla.
4:24.35 … Amanda Goetschius [Delsea], May 2, 2010, Amherst, Mass.
4:25.21 … Megan McGlinchey [West Deptford], May 11, 2013, Princeton
4:25.83 … Shaelan McNally [Paul VI], April 13, 2026, Lewisburg, Pa.
All-Time Bucknell 1,500-Meter List
4:16.54 … Christine Bendzinski, 2018
4:24.81 … Katrina Torelli, 2026
4:25.55 … Caroline Tolli, 2013
4:25.83 … Shaelan McNally, 2026
4:26.07 … Sarah Chandler, 2016
4:27.68 … Karly Forker, 2022
4:28.28 … Christa Sawko, 2006
4:28.45 … Beth Braunegg, 2013
4:29.63 … Sarah Moniz, 2010
4:29.81 … Hana Casalnova, 2014
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 