As the Mid-American Conference Championships quickly approaches, the men and women's indoor track and field team is trying to gain experience while working on individual performances. On Saturday, Buffalo competed at the Akron Invitational in Ohio to test its skills and see where it stands in the MAC.
With no team scoring, the event featured two divisions; a gold for the top tiered athletes and a blue for the rest of the group. The Bulls had two event winners in the gold division and three in the blue division.
Freshman Jamiee McClary had everybody talking as she crushed the Buffalo record in the 400-meter race. Her victory over Ohio State's Shaniqua McGinnis by two-hundredths of a second earned a win in the gold division for the Bulls.
When asked about McClary's performance, head coach Vicki Mitchell conveyed how special the freshman is.
'She is a phenomenal addition to our team and an unbelievable athlete that trains with intensity,' Mitchell said. 'She works very hard and is very talented. Every time she goes out [on the track], it's beautiful. Watching her break the record was wonderful to see.'
McClary wasn't the only UB athlete to break a record. Junior thrower Matt Gac not only broke his previous record, but also earned an NCAA provisional qualifying distance with a throw of 64-8.50 (19.72m) in the gold division weight throw.
He added a foot to his previous record, which he set at the Penn State National Meet on Jan. 30. Gac also competed in the discus, an event that normally isn't held indoors, and took third with a toss of 166-11.
The Bulls also received great performances from some other student-athletes. Senior mid-distance runner Christine Sprehe and senior jumper Richie Sebuharara both recorded season bests.
Sprehe took the women's 3,000-meters in the blue division with a time of 10:21.72. Sebuharara took second in the men's blue division triple jump with his season-best 44-4, placing behind Buffalo's junior jumper, Chandler Brown, who recorded a 44-9.50. Junior pole vault specialist Daniel Reynolds also brought home a victory for the Bulls, with a jump of 15-1 in the event.
Mitchell was really pleased with the success some of her student-athletes had at the event and liked the consistency that her team showed.
'All across the board, there were tons of great performances,' Mitchell said. '[Sophomore thrower Kristy] Woods, in the shot put, is always a top performer of any meet. [Senior pole vault specialist Tiffany] Maskulinski always comes through big, and our team always shows consistency.'
Woods took second place in the shot put in the gold division with a toss of 50-0.50. Maskulinski placed second in the gold division pole vault at 12-5.50. Freshman thrower Erin Miller was also noteworthy, as she took second in the discus toss with a score of 139-5 and second in the shot put with a toss of 46-0 in the blue division.
Mitchell felt that the invite provided a good warm up for the MAC Championships with all the MAC teams competing in Akron.
'We went up against several top runners from our conference,' Mitchell said. 'Kent State, Akron [and] Eastern Michigan all will be seen in the MAC Championships, and we have to be ready for them.'
The Bulls will travel to Kent State on Saturday, Feb. 20 to battle the Golden Flashes in their last competition before the MAC Championships. The event start time is still to be determined.
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