Buffalo's indoor track season kicked off the 2009 calendar year with a bang.
???On Jan. 9, the men's and women's teams traveled to Stile Athletics Field House in Akron, Ohio to compete in the Akron Quad. The men placed second in a field of three and the women finished fourth of four teams.
???Neither team took its full roster on the road, which hurt their collaborative scores and ultimately their placement. Despite this, numerous individuals were able to accomplish personal feats that showed promise for the season.
???The men's team battled Akron and Pittsburgh. Though the Zips bested the field with a total of 113 points, the Bulls, who earned 99 points, had a few standout performances and topped the Panthers. Pittsburgh finished in third place with 66 points.
???Buffalo sophomore Matt Gac placed first in the weight throw and set a new personal record of 18.94 meters, besting his old mark by over two feet. Three of Buffalo's junior sprinters contributed to the team's success as well.
???Daniel Schichtel finished first in the 60-meter dash, running the race in a surprising 6.92 seconds. Brian Smith earned the top spot in the 200-meter race, finishing in 21.72 seconds and Ezekiel Porter won the 400-meter dash and set an IC4A mark with the time of 48.87 seconds.
???"I was very pleased with how these young men performed at the start of the season," said head coach Perry Jenkins. "It tells me that during the break [the team] did their homework and trained well."
???Jenkins stated he purposely scheduled the first two meets against in-conference teams to see how they would fare this season. He was pleased to see that his players were well prepared and that they are concentrated on the tasks ahead.
???The women's team faced the Akron, Pittsburgh, and Michigan, the nation's third best team.
???There was no upset in the cards on Friday night for Michigan as it separated itself from the pack by tallying up 173.5 points, a score good enough to earn it first place honors.
???Akron, the defending Mid-American Conference champions, placed second with 136.5 points, Pittsburgh finished with 108 points, and Buffalo ended the night with 86.5 points.
???"The teams that we were up against were very good," said women's head coach Vicki Mitchell. "[The level of competition] allowed our women to come out and compete at a high level."
???The bright spot for the Bulls came from two of their throwers, who earned regional qualification with their first marks of the season.
???Senior Tina Villa placed second in the shot put with a toss of 14.86 meters, falling just behind Michigan sophomore Allison Liske, who met the NCAA provisional mark of 15.25 meters with her throw. Villa is the defending conference champion for the shot-put event and showcased her skills Friday night.
???Freshman Kristy Woods placed sixth overall in the shot put with a throw of 14.08 meters and earned third place in the weight throw with a mark of 15.85 meters. Freshman Jackie Burns placed second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.6 seconds.
???Mitchell was pleased with how her underclassmen performed in the meet.
???"I found it particularly impressive to see our freshmen step onto the track and keep their composure at a very high level of competition," she said.
???See Friday's issue of The Spectrum for coverage of the Doug Raymond Invitational.
