Surdej Makes MAC History & Extends Bulls' Historic Shot Put Dynasty on Day Two of MAC Outdoor Championships

Friday, May 10

DeKalb, IL

12pm

MAC Outdoor Championships

Photo by: Elsye Jones - MAC Sports

Surdej Makes MAC History & Extends Bulls' Historic Shot Put Dynasty on Day Two of MAC Outdoor Championships

5/10/2024 8:48:00 PM | Track and Field

DeKalb, Ill. – The University at Buffalo Track & Field team competed in day two of the MAC Outdoor Championships on the campus of Northern Illinois University. The Bulls brought home three more medals on the second day of conference championships, including Jonathan Surdej bringing home his eighth MAC shot put title and extending the consecutive run of program dominance in the event.

Surdej's throw of 17.77 meters was enough to win his eighth shot put title, falling just short of his all-time outdoor personal best mark of 17.82 meters. The graduate student's eighth title is the most in program history and ties Mark Smith from Eastern Michigan (1982-1986) for the most individual MAC titles in conference history.

Surdej's eighth title also continues the Bulls' streak of outdoor shot put championships, with the Bulls now winning 14 straight outdoor shot put titles. The program's streak dates back to UB Hall of Fame thrower Rob Golabek who won the title from 2010-2012. National shot put champion Jonathan Jones continued the run from 2013-2015. Ryan Cribbin and Devon Patterson then shared the throne from 2016-2019, each winning two titles, before Surdej continued the streak from 2021-2024. The conference did not hold outdoor championships in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Scilla Benussi earned the sixth MAC medal of her career and second of the conference championship week in the women's heptathlon with a score of 5,240. The senior had top-five finishes in six of the seven heptathlon events, including a win in the javelin throw. Benussi also brought home a bronze medal in the women's javelin throw on Thursday night.

Kevin Gabalski brought home his second MAC silver medal of the year, placing second in the men's decathlon with a score of 6,615. The junior was one of two competitors in the decathlon to finish top five in all ten events. Gabalski also took the silver medal at MAC Indoor Championships in February in the men's heptathlon.

Freshmen Noah Ruffer and Brady Hughes also competed in the second day of the men's decathlon for the Bulls. Hughes finished fourth with a score of 5,912. The freshman took second in the decathlon pole vault and third in the discus throw. Ruffer placed sixth (5,726) overall in the decathlon. The freshman finished strong with third-place finishes in the javelin throw (45.20m) and 1,500 meter (4:49.59).

Luke Stoeffler finished fourth in the men's 3,000 meter steeplechase, missing a podium finish by six seconds with a time of 9:14.14. Stoeffler was just four seconds shy of his personal best time too. William Marchant took sixth, finishing in 9:21.40, as Gabriel Cornfield finished seventh with a time of 9:31.43.

On the women's side of the 3,000 meter steeplechase, Vassi Klock tied her personal best time of 10:49.48, placing tenth. Brianna Carter was the next to finish for the Bulls, taking 13th in the event with a personal best time of 11:07.27. The freshman's time ranks ninth all-time in UB outdoor history. Allison Newton also competed for Buffalo, finishing 19th (11:39.93).

Freshman Kara Moran took sixth place in the women's long jump with a personal best mark of 5.86 meters. Moran's new personal best ranks fifth all-time in UB outdoor history.

Daniel Muccini placed fifth in the men's long jump with a personal record mark of 7.01 meters. Freshman Manuel Sepulveda's personal best jump of 6.99 meters earned seventh place.

Freshman Bernice Balk finished the women's shot put in 19th and with a throw of 11.29 meters.

PRELIMS
Tal Hamel qualified for the men's 400 meter finals, ending the preliminary round with a time of 47.27. Hamel will compete in the finals round on Saturday afternoon. Fernando Sanchez placed 10th in the prelims, with a time of 49.77, missing the qualifying mark of 48.29. Julian Smith also competed for the Bulls, finishing 12th with a time of 50.20.

Johann Matzal ran a season-best time of 1:52.71 to place fifth in the preliminary round of the 800 meter, qualifying for the finals round on Saturday. Gabe Watson also qualified for the finals, finishing sixth with a personal best time of 1:53.14.

Jermaine Ewers qualified for the finals round of the 100 meter dash, finishing in 10.67 to place seventh in the preliminary round. The finals round of the 100 meter will take place on Saturday afternoon.

Gemma Galligani ran a personal best time in the preliminary round of the women's 100 meter hurdles, finishing in 14.67 seconds. The freshman placed 13th, missing the qualifying mark (14.14).

Johanna Kleiner finished 21st in the preliminary round of the women's 800 meter with a time of 2:16.12, missing the qualifying mark of 2:10.80.

The Bulls head into the final day of MAC Outdoor Championships tied third place on the men's side with 49 points and 32 points on the women's side for fourth place. Saturday's events will begin at 1:30pm. All information regarding the conference championships including event schedules, timing and tickets can be accessed here.

For live 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").