Expectations were exceeded and Bulls records were broken at the Mid-American Conference championship meet this past weekend. Both the men's and women's indoor track teams placed fourth at the MAC Championships at Central Michigan University, scoring 72 and 46 points, respectively.
'We did very well,' said men's head coach Perry Jenkins. 'Our sprinters and jumpers came through… We all did a good job.'
On the men's side, Eastern Michigan clinched its 13th MAC indoor title. EMU won nine out of the 17 indoor events.
Kent State won its second women's championship despite being down by 23 points with three events remaining. The Golden Flashes outscored host Central Michigan by 34-4 in the final events and took the championship.
Buffalo had many standout performances at the championships and a few Bulls broke school records.
The men's field team showcased their athleticism as junior Matt Gac won the weight throw with a toss of 65-2.25 (19.87m), a new school record.
Senior Jake Madonia won the shot put on Saturday with a throw of 59-2.25 (18.04m), and sophomore Rob Golabek finished in third with at throw of 56-8 (17.27m).
The women were successful on the field as well. Junior Tiffany Maskulinski came second place in the pole vault with a jump of 12-feet 11.50-inches. Sophomore Kristy Woods was runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 52-1.75.
On the track, freshman Jamiee McClary finished second in the 200-meter race and placed sixth in the 60-meter dash in her first MAC Championship appearance.
'That's just really impressive for a freshman to be able to stand out at that level,' said women's head coach Vicki Mitchell.
To close out the women's meet, senior Allison Grimes, sophomores Jackie Burns and Natalie Fildes, as well as McClary finished third with a time of 3:52.21 in the women's 4x400-meter relay.
'We averted any major disasters,' Mitchell said. '[We] had a few girls really step it up and overall we were pleased with their performance.'
The men's quartet of seniors Ezekiel Porter and Brian Smith, along with junior Sean Brummert and sophomore Isaiah Mask finished third in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:19.15.
Junior Jamal Norward placed second in the men's 60-meter hurdle behind Eastern Michigan's Vanier Joseph, who ran a 7.99.
Another point scorer for the Bulls was junior Eugene Kennedy, who set a pair of season bests. He placed third in the men's high jump with a leap of 6-feet 10.25-inches (2.09m). Kennedy also placed fourth in the triple jump after leaping 45-9.25 (13.95m).
Several individual runners also scored points for Buffalo. Freshman Will Cole and Porter finished seventh and eight respectively in the 400-meter run. Porter ran a 50.01, and Cole finished in 50.77. Senior Ryan Zillmann and Brummert both placed fifth in their events as well. Brummert ran a 1:55.19 in the 800-meter race and Zillmann finished with a 4:19.10 in the mile race.
'I think most of [the runners] feel good about the meet,' Mitchell said. 'They were a few that were disappointed that they didn't have their personal best performances, but most of them were pretty pleased.'
Jenkins, whose men's team had a slew of athletes surpass personal records, shared the same sentiments.
'They were happy,' Jenkins said. 'We came here to make a showing and get ready for an outdoor championship. The guys and the ladies came to run, and that's what we expected.'
Both indoor track teams will be in competition again at the ECAC and IC4C Championships in Boston. The weekend meet begins Saturday and concludes on Sunday.
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Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
