Bulls Ready for MAC Outdoor Championships
5/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men's and women's track and field teams head into this weekend's Mid-American Conference Championships confident that the hard work that the Bulls have put into the 2013 regular season will translate in several league titles.
This year's outdoor championships are slated for May 9-11 at the University of Akron's Lee R. Jackson Track and Field Complex. Events begin at 10:00 am on Thursday and Friday mornings with Saturday's competitions starting at 12:00 pm.
The combined men's and women's teams enter the league championships with the top-seeded athlete or relay team in nine of the meet's 42 events, tied for the most with Kent State, the 2012 women's champion and men's runner-up. UB also has the second-seeded individual in seven events and the third seed in three others giving the Bulls several excellent chances to claim conference crowns.
On the track, men's sprinters Miles Lewis and Ryan Billian put up the league's fastest times during the regular season and hold the top seed in two of the championship's marquee events. Lewis holds the fastest time in the 100-meters, a school record 10.37 seconds that he set at the season-opening Wake Forest Open in March. The time is two-tenths of a second faster than the second seed, Kent State's Wayne Gordon. Billian set the league's fastest time of 14.10 seconds in the men's 110-meter hurdles at April's Florida Relays. Lewis (21.30) and Billian (21.45) are also seeded second and third, respectively, in the men's 200-meters. Lewis is the defending MAC outdoor champion in the 200-meters and also won the MAC's 60-meter indoor title in February.
Hurdlers Will Cole and Brooklynn Ventura are also seeded high in their events. Cole was the runner-up in the men's 400-meter hurdles in 2012 and enters the 2013 meet as the top seed. Cole set the league's fastest regular season time of 52.70 at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic in April. Ventura is seeded second in the women's 100-meter hurdles following her 13.65 clocking at the Cornell Big Red Invitational on April 28.
Both of UB's sprint relay teams could also bring home league titles. The women's 4x100-meter foursome of Jamiee McClary, Camaria Long, Ventura and Crystal Graham hold the league's top seed following their 45.78 clocking at the Florida Relays, two-tenths of a second ahead of second-seeded Eastern Michigan. The men's 4x100-meter team is seeded second at 40.83. The UB team of Darien Johnson, Billian, Lewis and Brian Cummiskey set its mark two weekends ago at Cornell.
Women's middle-distance specialist Meghan Manley is the top seed in the 800-meters. Manley set the league's top time of 2:09.18 at the Florida Relays, two-hundredths of a second ahead of second-seeded Melinda Sawnor of Kent State. Kara Patrick enters as the second seed in the women's 10,000-meters. Patrick established the UB school record of 35:04.57 at April's Sam Howell Invitational at Princeton, lowering Jenny Koeppel's previous record by nearly 30 seconds.
The Bulls have traditionally scored high in the field events, especially with their well-stocked stable of throwers. Although three-time MAC champion Rob Golabek graduated, the Bulls simply reloaded with Jonathan Jones stepping into the circle. Jones won the MAC indoor shot put title in February and is the league's top seed outdoors. Jones ranks first among the league's shot putters after he set a top throw of 62-2.25 (18.95m) at the Florida Relays. His throw also ranks 10th nationally and is three and a half feet better than the second-best throw in the MAC. Evan Palmer, the 2011 MAC champion in the men's discus, is seeded third in this year's men's hammer throw. For the women, Shane' White, who won the 2011 MAC hammer throw title, is seeded fourth in both of her events, the hammer and discus, at this year's meet. White posted a top hammer mark of 198-4 (60.46m), eight feet off her record setting throw at the 2011 meet, at the Upstate Challenge on April 19. White won the MAC's indoor weight throw title in February. Kristy Woods and Rachel Roberts in the women's shot put and Erin Miller in the women's hammer also figure prominently in UB's title hopes.
Jacob Sunday holds the league's top seed in the men's javelin. Sunday set the top throw of 222-11 (67.96m) at the season-opening Wake Forest Open. He finished third at last season's MAC Championships. After sitting out the 2011 and 2012 seasons, Casey Garbaty, the MAC champion in the 2010 men's javelin, could also claim another title. Garbaty is seeded fifth with his top mark of 204-2 (62.24m) coming at the Florida Relays.
Austin Price heads into the league championships at the top seed in the men's triple jump. Price broke a 13-year old UB record when he cleared 51-0.25 (15.55m) to win the event at the Upstate Challenge on April 19. His distance is nearly three feet better than the league's second-best leap this season. In the men's long jump, Austin Ashby and Don McCann rank second and third, respectively. Ashby (24-5.50, 7.45m) and McCann (24-1.75, 7.36m) both set their top marks at the Cornell Big Red Invitational on April 28.
High jumpers Emma Siuciak and Chris Reape enter the competition as the second seed in their respective fields. Siuciak and top seed Dior Delophant of Kent State have both cleared 6-0 (1.83m) this season. Siuciak set her school record mark in the Wake Forest Open in March and is one of eight high jumpers ranked 11th nationally. Reape also broke the UB record this season with a top mark of 7-0.25 (2.14m) at the Big Red Invitational. The height is just one centimeter off the league's top mark set by Akron's Martel Durant. UB's John Strickland, the defending league champion in the event, is also in the field.
Siuciak is also the top seed in the women's heptathlon after scoring a UB record 5,193 points at the California Invitational Heptathlon in April. She broke Patrice Coney's mark of 5,116 set in 2007 when Coney won the MAC title. Expect Siuciak to set her top finishes in the high jump and 800-meter run portions of the seven-event endurance test.
Women's head coach Vicki Mitchell is optimistic about her team's chances. "The women will be facing very strong competition at the MAC Championships," she stated. "We have been preparing all year, putting in unbelievable training. Our competitions leading up to the MAC Championships indicate that we are on the right path for an outstanding meet. Our goals are set very high. Focus and passion will be the driving force leading us to a great competition."
The UB men placed fifth in a six-team field at the 2012 championships held in Mt. Pleasant, MI while the UB women were sixth among the 12 league member schools.
