The Bulls came to compete this past Friday and Saturday at the Early Season Invitational held at State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo. The team secured Gold in 11 of the events, and even set a new school record.
Sophomore sprinter Shannon Schmeider opened up Friday with back to back first place finishes in the women’s 100 and 200 meter dash, with final times of 12.49 and 25.48 seconds, respectively.
The women continued their winning streak in the 1500 meter by securing first and second place. Sophomore distance runner Meghana Reddy took the gold with a winning time of 4:40.99.
The women’s 100 meter hurdles was one of the most notable points of success for the team. Buffalo secured first, second and third medals, won by freshman track and field athlete Krista Perry, and sophomore sprinterOlga Skolasinska and sophomore track and field Isa van Puffelen, respectively. Perry set a personal best of 14.36 seconds.
The women’s throwing events were another triumph, with a Buffalo athlete securing first place in three of the four events. Junior thrower Loretta White won the hammer throw with a distance of 51.20 meters. Sophomore thrower Maria Akalonu won the shot put with a distance of 12.65 meters. Sophomore javelin thrower Stella Kapp rounded out this stellar string of performances by throwing the javelin 37.43 meters.
The men also had a lot of success at this meet.
Freshman distance runner Michael Huebner placed second in the 800 meter run, while sophomore jumper Ryan Cardichon took first place in the high jump, with a final measurement of 2.04 meters.
Senior hurdler Michael Parks made history this weekend, setting a new school record for men’s 110 meter hurdles. He set a time of 14.36 in the preliminaries, then cruised right past this time in finals, finishing in 13.95 seconds. He replaces the previously standing record of 13.96, set by Ryan Billian in 2017, a former athlete that held multiple school records.
The Bulls will next compete in the Big Red Invite on Saturday and Sunday, April 11 and 12, in Ithaca, NY at Cornell University.
Drew Heckman is the assistant sports editor and can be reached at drew.heckman@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics
