Running outside is overrated.
Just ask the men's and women's indoor track team, who took home six first-place finishes in their season-opening meet, the Doug Raymond Invitational, at Kent State University last weekend. There was no team scoring at a meet that featured several Division I schools including West Virginia, Duquesne and host Kent State.
"The primary purpose for this meet for our men's and women's team was to get a good evaluation on where we are starting," said Bulls' head coach Vicki Mitchell. "This is a good meet to get those initial butterflies out of our stomach and like any meet we have room for improvement and I am confident we will see those improvements."
The men's team captured four first-place finishes, which were marked by their highflying duo. Senior sprinter Roy Richards and junior jumper Rayshon Higgins looked dominant in the long and triple jumps.
Richards took first in the long jump with a leap of 23 feet 11 inches while establishing a qualifying mark for the IC4A Championships, which follows the Mid-American Conference championships. Higgins finished right behind him with a jump of 22 feet 7 inches, good for second-place. Richards would come up again on the score sheet as he took a third in the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.94 seconds. Finishing fourth in the event was freshman sprinter Daniel Schichtel who clocked in at 6.98 seconds.
"In terms of the team standpoint we had a lot of individuals fill in where they needed to and very good efforts across the board," Mitchell said. "We also had a lot of positive team support which is a great way to start the season."
Wanting a first-place finish of his own, Higgins came back to win the triple jump with a mammoth bound of 47 feet 1 inch, which also qualified him for the IC4A Championships.
The youngsters for the Bulls also received a chance to shine, as two freshmen went 1-2 in the 800-meter run. Mid-distance runner John Bauman finished the race in the time of 1:57:38 earning him first, while teammate Ryan Zillman finished second in 1:58:35.
The other first-place for the Bulls came from multi-event runner Todd Joki. Joki took a first in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.26 seconds. Freshman Teammate Donovan Haigler was fifth in the race in 8.92 seconds.
"I ask them to give 110 percent with everything they do," Mitchell said. "If they can do that with training and carry that over to competition they will achieve the performance margin they need to be competitive at the Mid-American Conference."
The Buffalo women were stellar as well, pulling in two first-place finishes and an array of second-place finishes.
One top finish came from sophomore jumper Caitlin Godin who won the high jump soaring 5-5 feet for the win. The team's other No. 1 spot came in the mile run as sophomore mid-distance runner Mary Veith finished in 5:09 while senior Kate Kohout was second with 5:18.
"A big thing for us is team support. I want all the individuals on our team to understand what a good performance in each event is so they respect the effort those individuals put in," Mitchell said. "It is critical that if we have an individual who needs to step up that they do it."
The second-place finishes piled up for the Bulls. Senior Sarah Vance earned an ECAC qualifying mark and set a collegiate personal best with her toss in the weight throw of 58-2 feet. Other second place finishes came from freshman sprinter Octavia Johnston who finished second in the 60-meter dash in 7.76 seconds, freshman Christine Sprehe in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:22, freshman jumper Kimarie Black in the triple jump with a 36 feet leap and senior Jessica Lister in the pole vault at 10 feet 11 inches.
The Bulls will travel to Ithaca, N.Y. for their next meet at the Cornell Upstate Challenge on Jan. 20.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
