The Buffalo track and field teams looked to continue their strong seasons as they traveled to Oxford, Ohio to compete in the Miami Invitational on Saturday. The men's team finished in second behind their host, the Miami RedHawks, while the women placed third behind Miami and Bowling Green.
"It was a challenging meet for us," said Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "It was tough to stay warm in the cold and windy conditions, but we competed well."
On the men's side, the Bulls collected five first-place finishes, two of which came from sophomore sprinter Ezekiel Porter. His first win came in the 100-meter dash, where his time of 10.66 seconds fell just two-hundredths of a second shy of the school record. The Bulls took the top three spots in the race as sophomore Dan Schichtel came in second with a season-best time of 10.74 seconds, and sophomore Brian Smith following in third with a time of 10.75 seconds.
The Bulls also claimed top spots in the 200-meter dash, with Porter winning in 21.90, Smith taking second with a time of 22.03, Schichtel placing fourth in 22.45 and sophomore Eugene Kennedy finishing fifth in 22.67.
Porter and Schichtel continued their strong days as they helped the Bulls to another first-place finish, this time in the 4x100-meter relay. The team of Porter, Schichtel, freshman Brandon Giles, and junior James Graber picked up the win with a time of 41.61 seconds.
"Although the times may not show it, we had a lot of strong performances," Mitchell said. "The conditions slowed us down a little, but we were still able to compete at a high level."
The Bulls also took the top two spots in the triple jump, as junior Loic Sebuharara won with a leap of 14.04 m, and freshman Chandler Brown followed in second with his season-best jump of 13.49 m. Sebuharara also recorded a third-place finish in the long jump with his season best jump of 6.84 m.
Buffalo's fifth win came in the men's discus toss, where junior Alex Stamatakis won with a throw of 48.3 m. Senior P.J. Godios finished second in the javelin with his season-best throw of 55.09 m.
On the women's side, the Bulls grabbed another two first-place finishes. Sophomore Tiffany Maskulinski won the pole vault, as she tied her season-best jump of 3.7 m. Buffalo also placed first and second in the women's javelin throw as senior Vanessa Roelofsen won the event with a throw of 45.67 m, and freshman Katie Weston came in second with her season-best mark of 44.09 m. Both throws were NCAA East Regional qualifying marks.
The Bulls turned in other notable performances as sophomore Jessica Cooper placed second in the women's triple jump with her team-best leap of 11.28 m. Freshman Natalie Fildes and junior Caitlin Godin collected third-place finishes for Buffalo as Fildes set season bests in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races, and Godin posted a 1.65 m in the high jump. The Bulls earned a pair of fourth places finishes on the track, as sophomore Christine Sprehe took fourth in the 800-meters, and sophomore Allison Grimes finished fourth in the 400-meter race.
Mitchell is optimistic about the season ahead, believing this meet will help them prepare for the challenges they will face later in the season.
"There is always room for improvement, even for those who won their races. We saw a lot of strong teams, and if anything, this meet helped us see the competition we'll be up against this season," Mitchell said.
The Bulls are back in action this weekend as they host the UB Invitational on Saturday at UB Stadium. The first event is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
