In a non-team scoring event at the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State, the men's and women's track and field teams came away with some top results this past weekend. The meet is one of the nation's top competitions.
One of the best performances for the Bulls came from distance runner Christine Sprehe. The sophomore competed in the Section II 1,500-meter race and finished in first place with a time of 4:46.01. Junior Jessica O'Neill finished in 23rd place, 11 seconds behind Sprehe.
Another event Sprehe took part in was the 1,600-meter sprint relay. Sprehe anchored the team and was joined by freshman Natalie Fildes, sophomore Octavia Johnston and junior Allison Grimes. The foursome clocked in at 4:10.42, which was good for a ninth place result.
The Bulls had a strong result in the long jump from junior Fatimah Hill. Hill broke her own school record, leaping 6.0 meters. The score was good enough to help Hill qualify for an NCAA regional. She broke her old record by less than two inches.
In the Section II 5,000-meter run, junior Jessica Schultz had a time of 18:07.60, good for 13th place. This time was only 37 seconds behind first place, which was won by Felicitas Mensing of Coastal Carolina.
Sophomore Nicole Soblosky came in sixth place with a time of 11:26.15 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The first place result clocked in at 10:30.51. In the women's triple jump, freshman Sarah Krott leapt to 11.22m.
Buffalo recorded three fourth-place finishes in field competitions. In the high jump, junior Caitlin Godin reached a jumped 1.70m. This was the same height that she met at the first event of the season. Senior Carrie Hinners competed in the pole vault and soared over the bar at 10-6, good for 3.20m. Senior Vanessa Roelofsen threw the javelin 45.47m. In the same event, freshman Katie Weston finished in sixth with a toss of 42.17m.
In the 4 by 200-meter relay, the team of senior Patrice Coney, Fildes, Grimes and Godin came in fifth place, crossing the finish line in 1:43.73.
On the men's side, junior Alex Stamatakis gave the Bulls a second place result in the discus. Stamatakis had a season-best whip of the discus of 50.30m.
Sophomore Ryan Zillman pulled in a 13th place finish in the Section II 1,500-meter run. Zillman's time of 4:02.29 was five seconds behind first place.
Freshman Ryan Bloom gave Buffalo a solid finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bloom finished in seventh place with a time of 9:38.89.
In the men's high jump, freshman Peter Bligh and sophomore Eugene Kennedy tied for tenth place with a score of 1.95m.
Like the women, the men's squad composed of sophomore Ezekiel Porter, freshman Brandon Giles, junior James Graber and sophomore Dan Schichtel also produced a strong result in the 4 by 200-meter relay. The team finished with a time of 1:29.09.
Buffalo's next meet is Friday and Saturday, April 11-12 at the Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
