Bulls reach new heights at Raleigh Relays

Momentum seemed to spread to everyone on both track and field teams this weekend, and record-breaking performances were the result.
Both the men's and women's track and field teams had impressive showings at the Raleigh Relays, a two-day event at North Carolina State's Paul Derr Track. The teams won a total of five events, breaking five school records in the process.
The men's relay team broke two of those records. The sprint medley relay team of seniors Ezekiel Porter and Brian Smith, along with sophomore Isaiah Mask and junior Shaun Brummert, ran its way to a record-breaking time of 3:26.57 and a third-place finish. The team's time broke the mark set at last year's Raleigh Relays.
Porter and Smith joined seniors Dan Schichtel and Dan Harris in the 4x200-meter relay and produced a record-setting time of 1:25.51. The time earned them a fifth-place finish in the event.
Other successful finishes came in the 5000-meters, as junior Jacob Hagen came in second-place with a time of 15:11.30, and in the 400-meter hurdles with freshman Will Cole placing fifth in 52.62.
Sophomore Casey Garbaty also broke a school record as he won the javelin throw. His heave of 224-6 (68.43m) was not only 10 feet better than the second-place throw, but crushed his mark from last season of 209-9 (63.93m).
Men's head coach Perry Jenkins spoke about Garbaty's performance after the match.
"Casey [Garbaty] was definitely a key performer this weekend," Jenkins said. "He is now number two in the east and number four in the country in the javelin throw."
The rest of the men's throwers were impressive as well. Sophomore Rob Golabek earned third-place in the shot put with a toss of 56-11.50 (17.36m). Fellow seniors Jake Madonia and Alex Stamatakis also finished sixth and seventh, respectively.
Junior Matt Gac finished fifth in both the discus (165-2, 50.35m) and the hammer throw (196-5, 59.87m). Gobalek placed in the hammer throw as well, finishing ninth with a throw of 183-1, 55.81m.
Jenkins was very pleased with his team's performance over the weekend.
"It was a great trip down there and we competed very well," Jenkins said. "We broke five school records and are showing improvement in almost every event."
The women's team was very successful as well, winning three individual events and a relay race at the meet.
Sophomore Becky O'Brien won in discus with a throw of 166-3 (50.67m). The throw also broke Sarah Vance's 2007 record by more than five feet. Freshman Erin Miller finished in seventh with a personal best throw of 142-0 (43.28m).
O'Brien was also part of an impressive showing in the women's shot put, which included three spots of the top 10. O'Brien finished second with a personal-best throw of 51-1.75 (15.59m). Sophomore Kristy Woods came in third at 50-0.75 (15.26m), and Miller finished ninth with a throw of 43-1.75 (13.15m).
Woods also earned a sixth-place finish in the women's hammer throw at 175-10 (53.59m).
The women's team was just as successful on the track. Sophomores Jackie Burns and Ellen Muster earned the top two spots in the second section of the women's 1,500-meters. Burns won the race with a time of 4:39.98, and Muster came in second in 4:41.61. Freshman Katie Sanders rounded out the top 10 with a time of 4:46.26.
Buffalo also won the sprint medley relay with a time of 3:59.96. Burns ran the anchor leg and was joined by freshman Jamiee McClary, sophomore Natalie Fildes and senior Allison Grimes.
McClary continued her successful weekend, breaking the women's record in the 200-meters. Her time of 24.18, which broke a 10-year-old record set by Janelle Callender, earned her a seventh-place finish.
Jenkins is very excited for the next match at the Florida Relays.
"I think we are going to compete very well down south," Jenkins said. "We're going to need to continue to train hard and make sure to get our throws to qualify in the warmer weather. Our goal is to make the top 48 teams in each event to get into the NCAA."
The Bulls will head to Gainesville, Fla. for the Florida Relays, which are set to start at noon on Friday.

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