Walker Breaks School Record As Bulls Continue Outdoor Momentum at Geneseo

Friday, April 4

Geneseo, NY

All Day

Geneseo Spring Opener

Photo by: Ryan Hagen/UBBulls.com

Walker Breaks School Record As Bulls Continue Outdoor Momentum at Geneseo

4/6/2025 1:35:00 PM | Track and Field

GENESEO, NY – The University at Buffalo track and field team competed at the Geneseo Spring Opener on the campus of SUNY Geneseo this past Friday and Saturday. The Bulls continued their outdoor momentum by winning eight events, posting three all-time UB outdoor top ten performances and one school record.

THROWS
Aiden Walker won the men's discus throw event with the school record mark of 57.26 meters, surpassing Matt Gac's long-standing school record of 56.39 meters set in 2010. Walker's school record marked the second consecutive weekend the Bulls broke a school record. The junior doubled back to win the men's shot put with a throw of 14.99 meters. Bryson Bodner (5th, 14.25m) and Quintus Simmons (6th, 14.17m) also earned top 10 finishes in the field of 44 student-athletes.

Maria Akalonu won the women's shot put with a mark of 11.98 meters in a field of 40 student-athletes. Bernice Balk followed in fourth with a mark of 11.86 meters. Akalonu later finished second in the women's discus throw with a mark of 40.04 meters.

Kenneth Gulloso posted a season-best mark of 52.13 meters in the men's hammer throw to open the meet on Friday, placing fourth of 45 student-athletes. Gulloso was under two-tenths of a meter shy of reaching his record that ranks eighth in UB outdoor history (52.27m). Michael Dearie placed 13th in the field of 45 with a mark of 45.41 meters in his outdoor debut.

Loretta White placed fourth of 46th student-athletes in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 46.40 meters. White's mark was less than a meter shy of her personal record (47.06m). Freshman Faith Hamilton placed 10th in the event in her collegiate debut with a mark of 42.17 meters.

Stella Kapp debuted in the javelin throw with a mark of 35.42 meters to finish third in the field of 35 student-athletes. Kapp was less than two meters shy of reaching the UB outdoor record book (37.23m). Krista Perry also competed, placing ninth with a mark of 30.36 meters.

SPRINTS
Kevin Gabalski won the men's 110-meter hurdles event with a new personal record time of 14.57 in the finals. The senior was just over a tenth of a second shy of reaching the UB outdoor record book for the event (14.45). Gabalski qualified for the event finals by finishing first in the preliminary round with a time of 15.11. Jason Colindres also competed for the Bulls, missing the finals cut by less than half a second (16.33).

On the women's side, Krisa Perry placed second in the 100-meter hurdles finals with a time of 14.39 seconds. Linnea Neureuther took third with a time of 14.45 seconds. Isa van Puffelen qualified for the finals but was disqualified due to a false start to finish eighth overall. Perry (2nd, 14.59), Neureuther (4th, 14.81) and van Puffelen (5th, 15.02) all qualified for the event finals by placing inside the top eight in the field of 26.

The Buffalo men won the 4x100-meter relay, placing first of 10 teams. The Bulls team of Micah Blair, Jack Faldetta, Sam Mellinger and Justin Kleppel finished the event in 42.36 seconds. The time was less than three seconds shy of the outdoor school record (39.88).

On the women's side, the Bulls finished second of eight relay teams in the women's 4x100-meter relay with a time of 49.19. Uma Bhattacharjee, Amber McDonald, Shannon Schmieder and Hailey Martinez competed for the Bulls, falling under five seconds shy of the outdoor school record (45.29).

Martinez (3rd, 12.17), Bhattacharjee (5th, 12.25), McDonald (7th, 12.28) and Alexia Jones (13th, 12.47) all earned top 15 finishes in the women's 100-meter field of 53. McDonald and Jones' time were personal records.

On the men's side, Sam Mellinger (2nd, 10.76) and Rylee VanAlstine (5th, 10.91) posted top-five finishes in a field of 60. Mellinger's personal record was under two-tenths of a second shy of reaching the all-time UB outdoor record book (10.62).

Schmieder won the women's 400-meter with a time of 58.49. The freshman was just over two seconds shy of reaching the UB outdoor top 10 (56.25). Stephney Pryce finished second to Schmieder with a time of 58.66. Jayne Williams was the third Bull to place inside the top 10, taking seventh with a time of 1:00.68. Alexis Grijalva placed 13th with a time of 1:02.55 in her debut with the Bulls.

Schmieder (2nd, 24.99), Pryce (5th, 25.45) Martinez (6th, 25.45) and McDonald (9th, 25.91) all placed inside the top ten in the women's 200-meter. Schmieder was just over two-tenths of a second shy of reaching the all-time UB top 10 (24.77). van Puffelen (11th, 26.09), Williams (26.63) and Jones (21st, 27.07) all competed for the Bulls too.

Linnea Neureuther won the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:04.21. The freshman was less than two seconds shy of reaching the UB outdoor top 10 (1:02.65). Lindy Betrus placed sixth with a time of 1:07.05. Melissa Carden also competed for the Bulls (18th, 1:13.14).

On the men's side, Colindres finished fifth in the men's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.87. The sophomore was under three seconds shy of his personal record in the event (55.24).

Rylee VanAlstine (3rd, 21.93) and Sam Mellinger (7th, 22.02) both earned top 10 finishes in the men's 200-meter dash. Both times were new personal records.

DISTANCE
Juliette Salazar (5th, 4:49.03) and Rachel Hirschkind (7th, 4:49.43) posted top ten finishes in the women's 1,500-meter field of 78. Salazar's time was less than two seconds shy of her personal record in the event (4:47.48). Freshman Sophie Brettholtz placed 16th with a time of 4:58.84, putting three Bulls inside the top 20. Reese Wilber (22nd, 5:03.63), Ella Reilly (23rd, 5:04.34) and Delaney Mansfield (24th, 5:05.82) finished in lockstep. Hannah Sullivan (31st, 5:12.45) and Lauren O'Rourke (54th, 5:27.11) also competed for the Bulls.

Vincent Guaresimo (3rd, 4:01.50), Gabriel Cornfield (6th, 4:04.01) and Kevin Sherry (8th, 4:05.25) all placed inside the top 10 in the men's 1,500-meter in a field of 99 student-athletes.

Allison Newton placed third in the women's 800-meter field of 69 with a time of 2:15.21. Juliette Salazar also posted a top 10 finish with a time of 2:23.29 to take eighth. Meghana Reddy (18th, 2:27.11), Brettholtz (23rd, 2:29.11) and Wilber (24th, 2:29.47) also finished inside the top 25.

On the men's side, Sherry (16th, 1:57.75) and Guaresimo (20th, 1:58.75) posted top 20 finishes in the men's 800-meter field of 97 student-athletes. Fernando Sanchez (43rd, 2:04.07) and Cornfield (54th, 2:05.63) also competed for the Bulls.

Lacey Danilovitz (3rd, 17:46.63), Eliza Medearis (5th, 17:49.26), Bronagh Cassidy (6th, 17:53.48) and Leslie Villafuerte Castro (9th, 18:37.27) all finished inside the top 10 in the women's 5,000-meter. Danilovitz and Medearis both ran personal record times. Megan Smith (11th, 18:58.19), Ciena Ferguson (13th, 19:09.47) and Chloe Freeland (15th, 19:15.58) put seven Bulls inside the top 15 finishers in the field of 44.

On the men's side of the 5,000-meter, Connor Domoy finished ninth with a time of 15:16.79. Sean O'Brien placed 17th with a time of 15:40.85 to put two Bulls inside the top 20 in the field of 64.

JUMPS
Akuot Kuany won the women's high jump with a mark of 1.74 meters. The freshman's outdoor debut joined the all-time UB record book to rank sixth all-time. Adriana Ellsworth placed second to Kuany with a new personal record mark of 1.71 meters. Ellsworth rose the ranks to take eighth on the all-time list. van Puffelen finished fourth with a jump of 1.58 meters to give the Bulls three of the top four spots in the event.

On the men's side, Freshman Ryan Cardichon won the high jump with a mark of 1.99 meters. Cardichon was four-hundredths of a meter shy of reaching the outdoor record book (2.03m). Calvin Finger (4th, 1.89m) and Tyler Norton (6th, 1.89m) also placed inside the top 10 for the Bulls.

Schmieder (3rd, 5.38m), Bhattacharjee (4th, 5.27m) and Perry (9th, 5.02m) all posted top 10 finishes in the women's long jump field of 34 student-athletes. All three made their outdoor debut in the event.
On the men's side, Gabalski placed 2nd of 39 student-athletes with a mark of 6.59 meters.

Carden won the women's triple jump with a personal record mark of 10.98 meters.

All results from the Geneseo Spring Opener can be found here.

The Bulls will next compete at the Bucknell University Bison Classic from Saturday, April 12th, through Monday, April 14th. A complete schedule for UB Track & Field can be accessed here.

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