PHOTO PROVIDED Bucknell's Evelyn Bliss won the program's first NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Women's Field Athlete of the Year nod in this photo by Isabelle Roes.

LEWISBURG — Defending U.S. national champion Evelyn Bliss broke new ground once again for the Bucknell women’s track and field program on Thursday when the USTFCCCA announced that the junior javelineer had been named the NCAA Division I Mid-Atlantic Region Women’s Field Athlete of the Year. Bliss became the first Bison to earn the honor.

“Congratulations to Evie on earning regional field athlete of the year,” Bucknell throws coach Ryan Protzman said. “Evie had a dominating season. The stats speak for themselves, but after earning a trip to Tokyo in the fall, she had taken a major step towards the most elite level of track and field.”

The award arrives one week after Bliss finished second at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the highest placement ever for a Bison woman. She joined Maura Fiamoncini (javelin) and Lonnie Fertik (heptathlon) as the program’s all-time First Team All-American honorees. Bliss also joined Fiamoncini as the only First Team All-Americans in program history.

Her 2026 spring campaign not only rewrote the Bucknell record book but the record books at numerous other schools. Bliss won six competitions, established six facility records (including two at Power Four schools), set five meet records, and, at one point, ranked first in the world. She won and set facility records at the Colonial Relays (William & Mary), the Bison Outdoor Classic (Bucknell), the historic and prestigious Penn Relays (University of Pennsylvania), the Kehoe Twilight (Maryland), the Patriot League Outdoor Championships (Navy), and the NCAA East First Round (Kentucky). She established meet records in five of those six competitions, the lone exception being the NCAA East First Round.

At April’s Bison Outdoor Classic, in front of a supportive home crowd, Bliss broke the 60-meter barrier for the first time and threw a personal best 61.34m (201-3), decisively setting a facility record, a meet record, and moving into possession of first place in the world.

Bliss extended a number of streaks in 2026. She won the Patriot League Championship for the third consecutive time and repeated the hat trick in the Colonial Relays and Bison Outdoor Classic. For the second straight year, she posted the highest mark at the NCAA East First Round with a one-throw-and-done process.