Track & field encompasses a diverse set of talents and events. The track segment of the sport specializes in running from the decisively short dashes to the lengthy and endurance-challenging distance runs. The field side is even more miscellaneous, ranging from jumps to throws to pole vaulting. Most athletes pick early in their careers which version to specialize in. The rare athlete is the one who decides to participate in both. The rarest athlete is the one who dominates in both. Karen Hull is that rarest athlete.
Hull has been a record-breaking force for the Bison women’s track & field team since her freshman year. The soon-to-be senior holds seven slots in the Bucknell top-10 rankings, including school records in the outdoor high jump and 4x100-meter relay. She recently concluded a junior season where she set the aforementioned school records and racked up ten event victories. At the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, she notched First and Second Team laurels in the 4x100-meter and the high jump respectively. Hull won the high jump at the ECAC Championships. She earned Patriot League Women’s Field Athlete of the Week and Bison of the Week. Hull finished the season competing at the NCAA East Preliminaries as one of the top-48 high jumpers.
Beyond the school records, Hull dominates the top-ten lists. For indoor, she ranks second (8.74) and fourth in the high jump (5-7). In the outdoor categories, she holds third in the 100-meter hurdles (14.26) and as part of another 4x100-meter relay quartet (46.89) and 10th in the long jump (18-8 3/4).
Her success in track & field should not be a surprise to anyone familiar with her backstory. Hull hails from a family filled with track & field pedigree stretching back two generations.
“I am the youngest of five sisters and two brothers, and they are all athletes. My grandfather and granduncle did track. Several family members ran at Colgate. My sister ran in middle school and high school. For me, it was seeing if I could beat her records that were still standing. My grandfather’s records remain up there. Track & field is just in our family.
While Hull did follow in the grand track & field tradition pioneered by her family, she did slightly break with the consensus by incorporating field events into her repertoire. Her high school coach suggested the high jump and the rest is history.
“Honestly, in high school, they would place you in any event that you looked fit for. Prior experience didn’t matter. Once at practice, the coach suggested the high jump. I tried it and they said you look decent enough, keep at it. If you watch me walk up a flight of stairs or in a straight line, I can’t do it, but somehow I do hurdles and jumps.”
Hull is being modest. Her ability in the hurdles and jumps has left an indelible impact in the Bucknell record books. Her high jump win at the ECAC Outdoor Championships headlined the Bison effort. Her mark of 5-9.25 returned the Bucknell record to her possession.
Her victory in the event was well-earned. As Thomas Paine wrote, "The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph." Hull and an athlete from Hampton tied and had to compete in a "jump-off." The Hampton jumper committed an NH and Hull leaped her record-breaking 5-9.25 jump to claim the title and school record. Hull credits her teammates with providing that extra boost to take home the title.
“That was one of my best moments. It was fun! I love to compete with that complete intensity. I love it. I think having that jump off pushed me to jump higher. I had my team backing me. The whole team was watching me since the high jump was the final event. After I won, I did my little fist pump and went over to celebrate.”
Typically, the ECAC Outdoor Championships conclude the spring campaign but Hull's season continued as she qualified for the NCAA East Preliminaries in the high jump as the 33rd seed. Hull finished 43rd in the event but it remained a great memory and a chance to become acclimated to the pressure of NCAA competition.
“It was a lot to take in at first. Speaking of the hurdles and the 4x100-meter relay, I have always had a big community coming to support me, so being there with just three other people, two of them were coaches, and the third one was a freshman thrower; it was an interesting environment. But I was happy to be there. I calmed my nerves by realizing the six-foot-four competitor and I both jumped the same mark to qualify. It was a great experience, and I would not trade it for the world.”
Hull's recruiting process was not a careful evaluation over months of deliberate planning and consideration but more of a jump of inspiration. A friend's interest in Bucknell prompted Hull to check out the school on the banks of Susquehanna. It is safe to claim that the split-second decision paid off for both Hull and the Bison.
“I did not know about Bucknell until my friend wanted to enroll. I thought I would go check it out. I was late in the recruiting process. I emailed the coaches on my way to Bucknell saying if you are not busy I will stop by. COACH ALEXANDER checked my mile split and it was an instant connection with HIM. The school is small which is what I love. Everyone knows each other. You don’t need a car. Unlike Penn State, where you only know people you live with. At Bucknell, you know people who live up the hill or down the hill, and that makes it special.”
Coach Alexander played a pivotal role in recruiting her to Bucknell, and their relationship remains a critical part of Hull's star-studded Bison career.
"Coach A is one of those coaches where you could do your worst and cry to him, and he would say, "It is just fourteen seconds of your life. You will be fine. You will not remember this in fourteen years." I can be open and honest with him if I am not feeling it at practice. His family is great. I am close with his kids and wife. It is a family atmosphere."
Track & field is generally a series of specialized events, but several events, like the relays, involve intricate teamwork. Hull's school record in the 4x100-meter relay resulted from that connection as well as the blazing speeds. The split-second maneuvers in the 4x100 are dependent on smooth moves and camaraderie. The quartet of Lila Gaughan, Hull, Bridget Lalonde, and Meghan Quinn proved that teamwork makes the dreamwork.
“It all comes down to trust at the end of the day. We have to trust each other that we will get the baton around and get it into each other’s hands. Without that trust comes hesitation where you will leave your hand back, or you will think they won’t make it in time. All of the runners that are on the 4x100 are my best friends. We hang out all the time. That amazing relationship comes right onto the track with us.”
The evidence of that trust shone through in the newly christened school record, gold in the Patriot League Outdoor Championships, and the three victories during the spring season. It became a nearly weekly occurrence that the 4x100-meter relay team reset their school record.
The close teamwork extends to the high jump group. Though it is an individual event, the trio of Olivia Boyce, Hull, and Abby Kates have become the Three Musketeers. They entered Bucknell together, and their bond has only grown tighter. The jumpers, at one point this season for 30 minutes, were tied for the school record in the high jump. Beyond that feat, the trio combined for six event wins, three Bison of the Week awards (1x each), Boyce won Second Team All-Patriot League, and Hull & Kates each won Patriot League Women's Field Athlete of the Week once. The companionship is evident since the footage of Hull's record-breaking jump at the ECAC Championships was provided by Kates.
“Olivia, Abby, and I have been competing together since freshman year. We know each other and we just want success for each other. When Abby got the high jump record, I was so happy for her. When Olivia and I tied, Abby was the one recording us and cheering us on. The comradery that we have adds to the feeling.”
The closeness extends to the Bucknell track & field alumni. The program is famed for the number of alumni who return for meets and socials. They keep a careful eye on the program and are genuinely excited when a new record is broken. Hull has firsthand experience of the phenomenon. The magnitude of her record-breaking hit her when she returned from the East Preliminaries.
"It didn't set in until a couple of days ago. When I look at the scoreboard and try to figure out how I can get on there and see all those people and realize that soon it will be my teammates and myself enshirned. The athlete who had the record before us, Taylor O'Brien, she and I are close friends. When I broke the record, she was the first one to text me about how happy she was for me. The community there is immense since we are such a small school. the people in the record book remain involved in the program and come back to watch us. "Their involvement in the program is awesome. It makes you proud to be a Bison. As Coach Alexander says, "I came here for track and field, I married my track sweetheart, and decided to be a track coach." And he is still here."
Hull's involvement with the alumni extends beyond receiving congratulations for smashing cherished records. She holds a student-calling job at Bucknell. The role involves talking to alumni about their Bucknell experiences and ensuring that a relationship continues between each alum and the university.
"You call them and ask them about their experiences at Bucknell and if there is anything they want to change. It is about getting to know the alumni and asking them to donate, inviting them back to campus, and setting them up at the career fair. I love doing it and there are so many track alumni."
Her post-Bucknell plans, as a psychology and education major, are to enter the education field and help raise the next generation of student-athletes.
"I am hoping to do something in school as a guidance counselor or a school teacher. I am also considering coaching. The way my majors work, I can go into any field I want. there are plenty of positions to choose from."
Hull is approaching her senior year with plans for a big finish and a commitment to make every moment count.
“Individually, I would like to keep progressing in the high jump and in the long jump which is a new event for me. It is going well. Finally, creating those lasting memories. I can’t believe I am a senior. It flew by. I am not going to take any meet or practice for granted.”
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