Bulls Have Strong Day One At MAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 23

Ypsilanti, MI

10am

MAC Indoor Championships

Bulls Have Strong Day One At MAC Indoor Championships

2/23/2024 8:16:00 PM | Track and Field

YPSILANTI, MICH. – The University at Buffalo Track and Field team competed in day one of the Mid-American Conference Championships on the campus of Eastern Michigan University. After day one, the Buffalo men sit at second with a score of 38, as the women hold seventh place with a score of 17.

The Bulls got out to a strong start on the first day of the conference championships, earning eight podium finishes across the 15 events the team competed in.

THE TRACK
The Bulls dominated the men's 5000 meter with Ryan Buzby winning the event with a time of 14:36.50. Alex Hislop took second place, mapping the track in 14:45.43. Luke Stoeffler finished third with a time of 14:45.73, falling in just behind Hislop to take all three podium spots for Buffalo.

The Bulls took first place in the men's 4000 meter distance medley relay with a time of 9:56.10. Cory Demo, Fernando Sanchez, Noah Brightman and Evan Hilbert earned the event win for Buffalo. The time falls just nine seconds shy of the school's all-time indoor record set in 2016.

In the preliminary round of the men's 400 meter dash, Tal Hamel and Brandon Robinson both had top ten finishes. Hamel completed the event in 49.04 for third place, as Robinson finished in sixth with a time of 49.94. The finals for the 400 meter dash take place on Saturday afternoon.

Johann Matzal (5th, 1:54.70) and Gabe Watson (6th, 1:55.29) earned top ten finishes in the preliminary round of the men's 800 meter dash. Matzal and Watson both qualified for the finals that take place on Saturday.

COMBINED EVENTS
In the women's pentathlon Scilla Benussi earned a podium finish, taking second place with a score of 3,880. Benussi opened with a fourth place finish in the 60 meter hurdles and a time of 8.88. The junior followed with a fifth place finish in the high jump and mark of 1.66 meters, and fourth in the shot put with a throw of 12.30 meters. In the long jump Benussi had a jump of 5.52 meters, good for a second place finish, closing out the event with another second place finish in the 800 meter and a time of 2:25.28.

Angela Forster also competed in the pentathlon for the Bulls, taking seventh place in a field of 16 competitors. Forster began her day with a seventh-place finish in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.88, followed by a third place finish in the high jump. In the long jump Forster took seventh place with a mark of 5.34 meters, ending her performance with a time of 2:32.96 in the 800 meter and an eighth place finish. Forster's final score was 3,554, a new personal best ranking eighth all-time in UB indoor history.

In the men's heptathlon Kevin Gabalski had a pair of podium finishes. The junior opened the day with a second place finish in the 60 meter dash and a time of 7.16. Gabalski then took second in the men's heptathlon long jump with a mark of 6.81 meters. The junior closed out day one with a fourth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 11.63 meters and fifth in the high jump with a mark of 1.84 meters. Gabalski enters day two of the heptathlon in second place and a score of 2,840.

Brady Hughes had a strong day in the men's heptathlon too for the Bulls, with a sixth-place finish in the 60 meter dash and a time of 7.40. Hughes followed his opening performance taking seventh in the long jump (6.07m) and fifth in the shot put (11.18m). The freshman ended day one with a seventh place finish in the high jump and a mark of 1.75 meters. Hughes enters the final three events in seventh place with a score of 2,489.

JUMPS
Freshman Kara Moran took fifth place in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.73 meters. Moran's jump is a new personal best, tied for eighth all-time in UB indoor history.

THROWS
Senior Imahni Sinclair took sixth place in the women's weight throw with a mark of 17.61 meters. Freshman Loretta White placed 11^th with a throw of 15.97 meters. The event had a total of 21 participants.

Caleb Nickens finished fourth in the men's weight throw with a throw of 18.19 meters.

All results from day one can be accessed here.

Day two of the MAC Indoor Championships begin at 10 am on Saturday.

For more coverage of Buffalo men's and women's track & field, follow the program on X (@UB_XCTF), Instagram (@BullsTFXC) and Facebook ("Buffalo Track & Cross Country").