???When a team has only once chance in the season to compete in front of home fans, they look forward to protecting their home field.
???The men's and women's track and field teams used the familiar setting of UB Stadium to their advantage Saturday morning.
???Buffalo captured 22 wins in 36 events at the UB Invitational on Saturday. There was no team scoring in the event that consisted opponents Erie Community College, Fredonia State and Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe Toledo.
???"The exciting element to track and field is that we can always improve both individually and as a team," said women's head coach Vicki Mitchell.
???Buffalo's men totaled nine victories on the day. Junior sprinter Brian Smith bested his school record in the 200-meter with a win in 21.23 seconds. The time was good enough to qualify Smith for the NCAA East Regional.
???Smith's day continued in the 4x100 relay, where he was the anchor for a team that included junior sprinter Dan Harris, junior sprinter Ezekiel Porter and junior sprinter Daniel Schichtel. The foursome clocked in at 40.65 seconds, besting their previous mark by a quarter of a second. Their speed was also good enough to qualify for regional.
???Schichtel followed the relay with a win in the 100-meter race. He clocked in with a regional-qualifying time of 10.54 seconds. The time was a personal best for Schichtel, topping his previous best by nearly two-tenths of a second.
???The closest race for the men was the 1,500-meters, which was determined by only a tenth of a second. Senior middle-distance runner Dan Giza bested his teammate, sophomore distance runner Jacob Hagen, with a time of 3:59.80 in an extremely close finish.
???A pair of juniors continued the Bulls' success. Middle-distance runner Ryan Zillman captured the 3,000-meters race. Sprinter John Connors followed with success in the 400-meter hurdles. The Bulls also finished first place in two field events.
???The women's team won a total of 13 events on the day. They were lead by senior jumper Fatimah Hill, who won a total of three events. She took first in the high jump with a mark of 1.62 meters. Hill followed with a victory in the long jump at 5.72 meters and concluded with a win in the triple jump at 11.82 meters.
"I thought our women's team performed well against the competition," Mitchell said. "The windy conditions made it a day to focus on competing, versus achieving a performance mark."
???Graduate thrower Tina Villa placed first in two events, winning the discus with a throw of 46.09 meters and the shot put with a toss of 14.50 meters.
???Buffalo's women added to their field success with strong performances on the track. Junior sprinter Kara Black won the 200-meter race with a time of 24.63 seconds and junior middle-distance runner Allison Grimes took first in the 400-meter race clocking in at 57.15 seconds. With the wins, both runners lowered their season-best marks.
???Buffalo's women hurdlers swept their events on the day. Though sophomore hurdler Lataya Dixon didn't beat the school record that she set last week, her time of 14.35 seconds was good enough for first place. Freshman hurdler Anna Holmes competed in the 400-meter hurdles for the first time this season and won in 1:08.85.
???Both teams will compete twice next weekend at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia and at the Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich.
