The Bulls' track and field teams went into the Mid-American Conference Championships looking to end their indoor season on a high note. The men and women came away with many impressive performances and an individual MAC Championship.
After two days of competition, the women's 50.50 points were good enough to take sixth place in the conference, while the men finished in a tie for fourth place after accumulating 47 points.
Akron won the women's competition with 106 points, while Eastern Michigan University put up the big numbers for the men's championship, scoring 207 points.
"Our goal was to equal or improve upon our performance from last year," said women's head coach Vicki Mitchell.
Mitchell also expressed a level of appreciation for the mental and physical toughness displayed by some of her athletes.
"We've had a number of student-athletes who have been sick over the last few weeks," Mitchell said. "I'm pretty impressed with the way a lot of them persevered."
Senior Patrice Coney led the Bulls on Day One with an outstanding performance in the women's pentathlon. Coney's day was marked by season-best showings in the long jump with a jump of 5.65 meters, the high jump in 1.66 meters and the 800-meter run in 2:20.85. Her 3,747 points in the five events of the competition were enough to land her a second-place finish.
Freshman Lataya Dixon also did well in the women's pentathlon. Her fifth-place finish was highlighted by a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles with 8.91 seconds and a terrific 1.72 m leap in the high-jump, the best jump from the women's team this season.
Freshman Tiffany Maskulinski also faired well on the first day, clearing the bar at 3.93 m, finishing fourth in the pole vault.
Buffalo's men ended the first day on a good note, taking third and fourth place in the weight throw event. Sophomore Matt Gac claimed third with a throw of 18.32 meters, while junior Alex Stamatakis wasn't far behind in fourth with a distance of 18.02 meters.
Senior Tina Villa set the tone for day two, taking the MAC Championship in the women's shot put. Her NCAA provisional toss of 15.59 m was also a personal best for Villa.
Coney's stellar performance carried over to the second day of competition, when she broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles. Her time of 8.60 seconds earned a sixth place finish.
Junior Mary Veith garnered a third-place finish in the mile run and fourth in the 3,000-meter with times of 5:00.36 and 10:00.49 in each event, respectively. Sophomore Christine Sprehe had a solid showing in the mile run, her 5:06.95 placed first in unseeded competition and a 13th-place finish overall.
Dixon finished third in the high jump competition with a 1.68 meters mark while Sophomore Jessica Cooper contributed to the Bulls' cause, claiming eighth place in the triple jump. She hopped, skipped and jumped a distance of 11.45 meters.
Sophomore Ezekiel Porter had a strong performance for the men, taking second place with a time of 6.86 seconds in the 60-meter dash. Porter also finished sixth in the 200-meter sprint, crossing the finish line in 22.16 seconds.
Seniors Dan Giza and Loic Sebuharara also registered points for the Bulls. Giza ran the 3,000-meter run in 8:26.39. Sebuharara took part in the triple jump with a jump of 14.42 meters. Sophomores Ryan Zillmann and Eugene Kennedy, along with freshman Jamal Norwood, also helped the Bulls. Zillmann ran the 800-meter run in 1:54.78, Kennedy high jumped to 2.04 meters, and Norwood ran the 60-meter hurdles in 8.38 seconds.
Three Bulls were also named to All-MAC teams at the Championship. Villa earned First Team All-MAC honors, while Coney and Porter were named to the second squad.
With the indoor season now at a close, the Bulls' track and field teams will now shift their focus to the outdoor season. Competition starts on March 14 in Wilmington, NC as Buffalo travels south to participate in the UNCW Open.
"It's pretty much going to stay the same," Mitchell said when asked if there was going to be a different approach to the outdoor schedule. "These student-athletes will work hard, they'll train hard, and they want to win."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
