Track and Field Ready for MAC Indoor Championships

MAC RECORD BOOK | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | DIRECTIONS/MAPS

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo track and field teams are ready to take on the Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend. The squad will travel back to Akron, Ohio for the third time this season. The University of Akron will host the championships in the Stile Athletics Field House as they are set to start on Friday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m.

THE FIELD
On the men's side, the team is ranked fourth out of five in this week's USTFCCCA conference rankings. Ahead of them is Akron, Eastern Michigan and Kent State, while Central Michigan is fifth. The team looks to finish in the top-three as they placed fourth a season ago. Akron will look to win on their home turf and repeat with back-to-back MAC Championships. The Bulls will have a tough task on hand as Akron has won seven MAC titles in the last nine seasons.

Heading into MAC Championships, the men's team have had a successful indoor season as they have 13 top-10 results in program history in their respective events. To highlight the season has been sophomore jumper Shevaughn Allen. Allen set a new school record twice this season in the triple jump. The new record stands at 16.09-meters (52'9.50"). In the long jump, Allen is fifth in school history as he jumped a distance of 7.35-meters (24'1.50"). He is undefeated this season in the triple jump as he ranks first in the conference and eighth in the NCAA.

Senior distance runner Caleb Covell looks to be on top of the podium at this year's championships. He has four times from the season in UB's top-10 results. The events include the 600-meter dash, mile run and 3,000-meter run and the 5,000-meter run.

Leon Atkins looks to carry over his 2019 outdoor NCAA Championships to the MAC Indoor Championships. The senior runner has the top-time in UB's 600-meter dash with a time of 1:18.49. In the mile run he is seventh in UB's history.

The women's team is currently ranked eighth in this week's USTFCCCA conference rankings. Kent State, Western Michigan, Ohio and Miami (OH) are behind the Bulls. The team looks to improve at this year's championships and last year they were tied for 11^th place. Central Michigan looks to repeat as champions for the first time since Eastern Michigan in 2015 and 2016.

The women's team has eight new top-10 results from the indoor season, two of which are school records. In the 60-meter hurdles, Selina Von Jackowski ran a time of 8.37 seconds at the Penn State Invite as Nisa Raqib broke a 16 year school record in the triple jump. Raqib leaped to a distance of 12.77-meters (41'10.75") at the Youngstown Ice Breaker.

Hannah Roof and Wijitra Burapan look to vault themselves to the podium this year in the pole vault. Both Roof and Burapan have tied for eighth in UB's pole vault results with a height of 3.82-meters (12'6.25"). A season ago, Roof placed sixth as Burapan finished in ninth.

The women's distance team has showcased their cross country talents in the winter season. The team of Meghan LaTuso, Alexia Hecico, Lily Meek and Riley Jones hope to stampede to the finish line and help the team secure the distance events.

Live stats can be found here for the championships. For those interested in watching this year's championships, the event will be available on ESPN3 and the Zips Digital Network. The Zips Digital Network will only be available in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and New York. For a schedule of events, click here.

Track and Field Ready for MAC Indoor Championships

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Players Mentioned

Shevaughn Allen

Leon Atkins

Caleb Covell

Alexia Hecico

Riley Jones

Meghan LaTuso

Lily Meek

Nisa Raqib

Hannah Roof

Selina Von Jackowski

University at Buffalo Athletics