UB Alumni Invite
Bulls Honor Coach Jim Garnham Sr. & Defend Home Track
4/21/2024 9:36:00 AM | Track and Field
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo Track & Field team hosted eight teams and five running clubs for the annual UB Alumni Invite on Saturday. The Bulls won the home meet for the fourth consecutive outdoor season, defending their home track against the local competition. The men ended the day with a score of 283, as the women finished with 212.
Capping off the Bulls' winning performance on the track, the team announced that legendary coach Jim Garnham Sr. will retire following the outdoor season. Garnham began coaching at UB in 2001 and since then has won five NCAA Northeast Region Assistant Coach of the Year Awards. The program's lone individual national title came from one of Garnham's throwers, Jonathan Jones, who won the shot put at the 2015 national championships. Garnham has coached three all-American athletes and brought the program 47 individual MAC Championships.
"During his 23 years, Coach Garnham has developed the UB throwing program into a powerhouse," said Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "However, he has been more than just a coach. Jim has been a mentor, leader, parent and much more to all of us. He has generously shared his expertise for the pure joy and love of helping others succeed."
With the energy in the air and several alumni back to honor coach Garnham, the team delivered an impressive performance, winning 18 events.
THROWS
Caleb Nickens started the morning on a strong note for UB throwing, winning the men's hammer throw with a mark of 58.41 meters. Sophomore Kenneth Gulloso earned a second-place finish (48.17). On the women's side, Imahni Sinclair won the hammer throw with a throw of 49.40 meters. Jenna Reid placed second with a mark of 48.03, making her season debut in the event. Loretta White finished fourth (40.17).
Reid later won the women's javelin throw with a mark of 42.87 meters. Reid's throw was less than a tenth of a meter shy of her season record. The graduate transfer sat atop the conference in the event heading into the weekend of competition.
Jonathan Surdej finished second in the men's shot put but was the first collegiate finisher with a mark of 16.36 meters. Bradley Johnson (4th, 14.62m), William Trembley (5th, 14.28m) and Quintus Simmons (6th, 13.35m) also competed for the Bulls. Bernice Balk placed second in the women's shot put with a throw of 12.34 meters.
Brady Hughes finished second in the men's javelin throw with a mark of 42.95 meters, taking the top spot on the men's leaderboard this season. Kevin Gabalski was a close third-place finisher with a throw of 40.62 meters.
The Bulls continued to dominate the throwing events until the very end, with Quinn Smith winning the men's discus (49.20). Trembley finished second (48.15), setting a new season best. Nickens made his debut in the event, placing fourth (37.54).
SPRINTS
Angela Forster had a strong day for the Bulls in multiple events, beginning with a win the women's 100 meter hurdles and a personal best time of 14.17. Forster's new personal best ranks fourth all-time in UB outdoor history. Scilla Benussi finished second in the event (15.14), earning points for Buffalo. Michael Parks won the men's 110 meter hurdles, finishing in 15.22, with Kevin Gabalski finishing as a close second (15.69). Hughes had a season-best time in the event (16.51).
The Bulls 4x100 relay team of Stephney Pryce, Amber McDonald, Uma Bhattacharjee and Alexia Jones placed second in the event with a time of 48.97. The team's time was just three seconds shy of the school's record (45.29).
Bhattacharjee finished fourth in the women's 100 meter finals with a time of 12.98, as Amber McDonald took fifth (13.02). Bhattacharjee (4th, 12.50) and McDonald (5th, 12.55) both qualified for the 100 meter finals earlier in the morning. Bhattacharjee's qualifying time was a new personal best.
On the men's side of the 4x100 relay a team of Sam Mellinger, Tal Hamel, Jean Desir and Jermaine Ewers finished first with a time of 42.76. The relay time was sixth-tenths of a second behind the team's season-best (42.16).
Ewers was the top collegiate finisher in the men's 100 meter finals, posting a time of 11.00 seconds. Brian Murphy (5th, 11.30), Justin Kleppel (6th, 11.50) and Parks (8th, 11.70) also competed in the afternoon finals round. Both Kleppel and Parks made their outdoor season debut in the event.
Pryce took second place in the women's 200 meter, finishing in 26.08. Bhattacharjee (4th, 26.78) and Johanna Kleiner (7th, 26.83) also finished inside the top ten for Buffalo. Forster made her season debut in the event for the Bulls, placing 11th (27.60). On the men's side, Fernando Sanchez finished third, completing the 200 meter in 22.46, a new personal record for the junior. Brandon Robinson took fourth too for the Bulls (22.47), as Julian Smith finished eighth (23.13) Both Sanchez and Robinson made their season debut in the event.
The team of Allison Newton, Julia Singh, Vassi Klock and Kleiner won the women's 4x400 with a time of 4:02.30. The relay time was a new season best for the Bulls.
DISTANCE
Klock won the women's 1,500 meter, finishing in 4:42.28. Klock's time was the fastest 1,500 meter by a female Buffalo runner this season. Newton finished as a close second (4:42.98).
The Bulls had success on the men's side too, with Ryan Buzby winning the event for Buffalo (3:56.34). Noah Brightman placed third for the Bulls second podium finish (3:58.30). Buffalo had seven of the top ten finishers in the event, with Alex Hislop (5th, 4:00.36), Gabriel Cornfield (6th, 4:02.59), William Marchant (7th, 4:02.82), Luke Stoeffler (4:02.92) and Cory Demo (4:03.17) finishing as a pack.
Sanchez won the men's 400 meter, finishing in 48.58. Smith (3rd, 49.77), Johann Matzal (5th, 50.93), Gabe Watson (6th, 51.30) and Andrew Core (8th, 51.60) also placed inside the top ten. Matzal, Watson and Core all posted a season best times.
Freshman Danzil Monk won the men's 800 with a time of 1:57.22, two seconds shy of his season-best mark. On the women's side of the 800 meter, freshman Reese Wilber finished second, posting a season-best mark of 2:18.49. Lauren O'Rourke (7th, 2:25.14), Chloe Freeland (8th, 2:25.27) and Jade Dennis (9th, 2:26.78) all placed inside the top ten for the Bulls. O'Rourke and Dennis also had season-best times.
Jason Colindres won the men's 400 meter hurdles, finishing in 56.28. The freshman's time was under a second shy of his personal record (55.36).
Megan Smith (3rd, 18:42.37), Paris Welker (4th, 18:42.53), Elizabeth Powers (5th, 18:47.73) and Brianna Urban (8th, 19:03.10) all finished inside the top ten in the women's 5,000 meter. Urban and Powers both posted season-best times.
JUMPS
Freshman Tyler Norton won the men's high jump at the UB Alumni Invite with a mark of 1.90 meters. Calvin Finger placed second (1.85m).
Forster and Zahra Amos placed first and second in the women's high jump respectively, both having a mark of 1.65 meters. Forster joins the all-time UB outdoor leaderboards with the jump, now tied for tenth with Amos.
Scilla Benussi won the women's long jump by a slim margin, finishing with a mark of 5.49 meters. Adriana Ellsworth placed fourth (5.10m) and Emily Tait took sixth (4.87m). Gabalski (2nd, 6.55m) and Daniel Muccini (3rd, 6.49m) both earned podium finishes in the men's long jump. Gabalski's mark was a season-best.
Freshman Amari Hall won the women's triple jump with a mark of 11.11 meters, a new season best thanks ranks third among the UB women this season.
Murphy was the lone Buffalo competitor in the men's pole vault, finishing first with a mark of 4.45 meters.
FINAL STANDINGS
Men's
| Teams | Score |
| Buffalo | 283 |
| Daemen | 95 |
| St. Bonaventure | 72 |
| Colgate | 66 |
| Le Moyne | 55 |
| Hilbert | 34 |
| Canisius | 22 |
| Niagara | 3 |
Women's
| Teams | Score |
| Buffalo | 212 |
| Niagara | 120 |
| Daemen | 89 |
| D'Youville | 62.5 |
| Canisius | 48 |
| Le Moyne | 48 |
| Colgate | 39.5 |
| St. Bonaventure | 39 |
| Hilbert | 3 |
All results from Saturday's home meet can be accessed here.
The Bulls will compete in three meets next weekend, the final weekend of preparation before outdoor MAC Championships. Thursday through Saturday members of the team will compete in one of the northeast's premiere outdoor meets at the Penn Relays. The Bulls will also compete on Friday and Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida at the East Coast Relays, with members of the team also competing on Saturday in the Cardinal Classic at St. John Fisher.
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").
Players Mentioned
