Bulls take control on home track

Over the weekend, Bulls track and field put on a show at home during the UB Alumni Invitational. The Bulls showed outstanding progress across the team, winning 18 events.

The meet started off strong with excitement and energy that would continue throughout the day. Starting off strong for the Bulls, junior hurdler Gemma Galligani won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.14 seconds. She later added a new personal best in the 400-meter hurdles, showing her improvement across multiple events. 

Also delivering a very impressive performance was freshman sprinter Malachi Taylor. Taylor had one of the biggest moments of the meet, winning the 400-meter dash, and achieving a new individual record of 47.93. He pulled through in the final seconds to secure the win and continue his impressive season. 

The success didn't just stop there. In the women's sprints, junior runner Amber McDonald had an exceptional performance in the 100-meter dash. McDonald finished first in 12.08 seconds, leading the Bulls to clutch the top four spots. The team also won the 4x100-meter relay with junior sprinters Sophia Sampson, Uma Bhattacharjee, Amber McDonald and sophomore sprinter Hailey Martinez. They all worked together to keep a perfect pace, keeping the race smooth and fast.

In the field events, the Bulls’ success continued with junior high jumper Stella Kapp, gaining a personal best of 1.76 meters to win the event. Kapp’s performance moved her to the top five in the Bulls’ women's high jumper history. 

The distance runners also had key performances. Junior distance runner Ella Reilly won the 1,500 meter, setting a new personal best time of 4:45.77. For the men, junior distance runner Aidan Norris won the same event, achieving a time of 3:52.85.

Moving back to field events, sophomore thrower Maria Akalonu added to the success of the Bulls by winning the discus with a throw of 40.53 meters after competing earlier that day.

By the end of the day, the Bulls showed across the team, with athletes stepping up in multiple events and crushing their personal bests. The team will look to carry that energy into its next competition at the Penn Relays on April 23, one of the biggest meets of the season.

The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com