University at Buffalo
David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Brightman and Klock Break School Records as Bulls Continue Historic Indoor Season
2/15/2026 11:27:00 AM | Track and Field
BOSTON – The University at Buffalo track and field program competed at the 2026 Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational on Friday and Saturday. The annual competition features select qualified athletes from around the country. The Bulls continued a historic indoor season, with Noah Brightman breaking the men's mile school record and Vassi Klock setting a new women's mile school record. The Bulls posted eight more performances that joined the program's all-time ranks.
DAY ONE
The Buffalo men participated on day one of the competition, headlined by Brightman breaking the school record in the mile run. The senior posted a personal best time of 4:03.62, crushing his previous best of 4:10.58 and surpassing Evan Hilbert's school record time of 4:04.93 (2024). Brightman placed 51st of 283 runners in the event. Aidan Norris also rose the program ranks in the mile, trailing Brightman to post a time of 4:07.38. The sophomore's performance earned the fourth spot in UB indoor history. Vincent Guaresimo competed for the Bulls too, posting a time of 4:14.56.
Cameron Bogdan and Jacob Brink made their mark on program history in the 5,000-meter run. Bogdan set a personal record time of 14:14.32 to earn the second-ranked spot in UB indoor history. The junior now trails only Ryan Buzby in the program ranks (13:57.40, 2023). Brink also earned a personal record, posting a time of 14:27.12 to take the seventh spot in UB indoor history.
Freshmen Keoni Chong (6th, 48.46), Kala'i Makanani (14th, 48.88) and Malachi Taylor (17th, 49.02) all earned top 20 placements in the men's 400-meter dash field of 112 runners. Chong's time was a new personal best that rose to sixth in UB indoor history. Makanani also posted a personal record time, tying Taylor's season best time of 48.88 to share the 10th-ranked time in program indoor history.
Michael Parks opened the day for the Bulls by earning second place of 19 runners in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.98 seconds. Parks broke the eight-second mark in the event for the second time this season. In the preliminary round, the senior earned first place in the second heat with a time of 8.02 seconds, qualifying for the finals.
In the men's 800-meter, Michael Huebner finished 83rd of 164 runners with a time of 1:55.30. The freshman was less than two seconds shy of his season-best time of 1:53.64.
Collin Stafford and Luke Stoeffler competed for the Bulls in the 3,000-meter run. Stafford posted a time of 8:18.99, nearly meeting his season best time of 8:15.63 and his personal best of 8:15.41, which ranks seventh in UB indoor history. Stoeffler finished the event with a time of 8:27.48.
Brian Murphy placed third in the men's pole vault with a mark of 4.75 meters.
DAY TWO
Klock headlined a successful day two for the Buffalo women. The senior broke the school record in the mile with a time of 4:46.99, surpassing Melinda Wheeler's time of 4:49.28 set in 2015. Klock finished 24th in the event of 233 runners. The senior surpassed her previous best of 4:50.84, which ranked third in program history, set earlier this season at Penn State. Bronagh Cassidy trailed with a time of 4:56.18 to place 100th, a new personal record for the senior that rose the program ranks to seventh all-time.
Sophia Sampson (7th, 56.74), Linnea Neureuther (15th, 57.15), Gemma Galligani (27th, 57.86) and Hailey Martinez (44th, 58.41) all posted personal best times in the women's 400-meter. Sampson's time of 56.74 joined the indoor program ranks, taking eighth in program history. The sophomore surpassed her previous indoor best in the event by nearly two seconds (58.56). Neureuther's time of 57.15 was less than half of a second shy of joining the program ranks (56.83).
Allison Newton set a new personal best time of 2:12.09 in the 800-meter, taking the eighth spot in UB indoor history. Newton placed 42nd in the field of 187 runners. Juliette Salazar also competed for the Bulls, finishing 62nd with a time of 2:14.02. The Bulls now have three times from the 2025-26 indoor season in the 800-meter rankings, with Newton, Salazar and Klock all joining the ranks in the event.
The Bulls competed in the 4x400-meter relay, taking first place in the fourth heat with a time of 3:49.75. The team of Neureuther, Galligani, Sampson and Salazar posted the Bulls best time in the event since the 2016 MAC Indoor Championships (3:49.58).
Uma Bhattacharjee competed in the women's 200-meter, finishing 10th in the field of 97 runners with a new personal best time of 25.11. The junior surpassed her previous best of 25.42 in the event, nearly missing the program's all-time indoor rankings (25.08). Bhattacharjee also competed in the 60-meter dash invite, finishing 16th with a time of 7.84 seconds.
All results from the David Hemery Valentine Invitational can be accessed here.
UP NEXT
The Bulls' final regular season meet ahead of MAC Indoor Championships is next Saturday, February 21st, competing at Cornell University's Deneault Invitational. A complete schedule for UB Track & Field can be found here.
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