University at Buffalo
UB Alumni Invite
Track & Field Wins 18 Events While Hosting UB Alumni Invitational
4/17/2026 11:04:00 PM | Track and Field
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo track and field program hosted the annual UB Alumni Invitational on Friday at Broadview Stadium. The Bulls made the most of the home meet by winning 18 events and posting four performances that joined the program's all-time outdoor rankings.
SPRINTS
Linnea Neureuther and Gemma Galligani both set new personal best times in the women's 400-meter hurdles to enter performances into the program's all-time top 10. Neureuther posted a time of 1:00.28 to remain at third in program history, beating her previous personal record of 1:00.31. The sophomore took second in the event. Galligani finished with a time of 1:01.14 to beat her previous record of 1:02.18 and rise from ninth to sixth in UB outdoor history. The junior finished third in the event. Lindy Betrus also competed for the program, taking eighth (1:06.47). Galligani also won the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.14 seconds, placing first among 24 athletes. Olga Skolasinska trailed to take second with a time of 14.60 seconds.
Malachi Taylor highlighted the day for the Buffalo men, winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.93. The performance joined the all-time rankings, taking ninth place in program history. The freshman surpassed his previous best of 48.27 in the event. The Bulls had four more athletes place inside the top five among the field of 27 athletes, with Rylee VanAlstine taking second (48.54), Keoni Chong in third (48.68) and Kala'i Makanani in fifth (50.25).
The Buffalo women began the momentum for the sprints program by winning the 4x100-meter relay. Uma Bhattacharjee, Amber McDonald, Sophia Sampson and Hailey Martinez combined to finish the event in 46.16, within a second of the program's record (45.29).
The Bulls earned the top four spots in the women's 100-meter. McDonald won the event with a time of 12.08 seconds. The junior was within one tenth of a second of reaching the program's all-time top 10 (12.02). Martinez (2nd, 12.09), Sampson (3rd, 12.10) and Bhattacharjee (4th, 12.18) trailed to take the top four spots. Shannon Schmieder earned seventh with a time of 12.37 seconds. Skolasinska (15th, 12.64), Alexia Jones (17th, 12.76) and Betrus (24th, 13.04) rounded out the Bulls' competitors.
Sampson won the 200-meter dash for the program, taking first place with a season-best time of 24.67 seconds. Sampson was less than two-tenths of a second shy of her personal best in the event (24.50) that ranks fourth in program history. Stephney Pryce earned second with a personal record time of 25.11 seconds. Schmeider earned another top-five placement for the Bulls (25.48). Jayne Williams (13th, 26.24), Krista Perry (16th, 26.61) and Jones (18th, 26.80) also competed for the Bulls.
School record holder Michael Parks won the 110-meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 13.79. The senior posted a time below the 13.80 mark for the third weekend in a row, a mark in which no other UB sprinter has ever registered a time below. Brady Hughes earned another top-five placement for the Bulls with a time of 15.61 seconds to earn fifth.
In the men's 100-meter, Matthew Schaffert (2nd, 10.82) and Mitch Diamond (3rd, 10.88) earned top three placements in the field of 41 sprinters. Diamond was just shy of his personal best in the event (10.87).
Schaffert doubled back to earn a top three placement in the men's 200-meter, joining teammate Keoni Chong, who earned second place. Chong's time of 21.55 was a new personal best in the event. Schaffert's time of 21.60 was just shy of his personal best in the event (21.36) that ranks sixth in program history. VanAlstine (6th, 21.95) and Taylor (7th, 21.99) earned top 10 placements. Makanani rounded out the program's competitors, finishing 13th (22.76).
Juliette Salazar made her debut in the women's 400-meter, placing second in the field of 22 runners with a time of 57.80. The time was within two seconds of the program's all-time outdoor record book (56.25). Pryce placed third to give the program another top-three finisher (58.54) and Williams finished sixth (59.51) to put another Buffalo sprinter inside the top 10.
Reddy, Sophie Brettholtz, Ella Reilly and Brianna Carter closed out the meet for the women's program by winning the 4x400-meter relay. The team posted a time of 4:03.00. Huebner, Xavier Gordon, Sanchez and Aidan Norris closed out the meet by winning the 4x400-meter relay for the men. The team finished the event in 3:18.17.
JUMPS
Stella Kapp headlined the day for the jumps program, winning the high jump with a new personal best of 1.76 meters. Kapp's performance rose to fifth in program history, tying Zaria Fuller (2016). Adriana Ellsworth earned a third-place finish for the program (1.66m).
On the men's side of the high jump, Ryan Cardichon won the event with a jump of 2.03 meters. The sophomore nearly tied his personal best with the performance (2.04m) that ranks seventh in program history. Daniel Richardson placed third in the event (1.93m).
Micah Blair (2nd, 7.01m) and Mitch Diamond (3rd, 6.68m) earned top three placements in the men's long jump field of 19 athletes. Nicalis Williams (6th, 6.53m) and Hughes (11th, 6.11m) also competed for the program. Blair took second place in the triple jump too (14.60m), as Williams secured another top five placement (4th, 14.44m). Diamond earned seventh (13.72m) to add another top 10 finish for the Bulls.
In the women's triple jump, Neureuther tied her personal best mark of 12.56 meters to be the top collegiate finisher. The sophomore placed second to only Christian Wende, current assistant coach, UB alumni and an Olympic Trials qualifier in the event. Neureuther's mark ranks fourth in program history. Hall earned third in the event (11.19m).
On the women's side of the long jump, Kara Moran (2nd, 5.78m) and Uma Bhattacharjee (4th, 5.60) earned top-five placements in the field of 27 athletes. Isa van Puffelen (7th, 5.51m), Amari Hall (8th, 5.49m), Schmieder (9th, 5.39m) and McDonald (10th, 5.34m) all earned top 10 placements to give the Bulls six of the top 10 spots. Hall's mark was a personal best.
DISTANCE
Carter won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase to begin events on the track with a time of 11:46.71. The junior took first place in the event among 10 runners.
Reilly continued the Bulls' momentum in the 1,500-meter run, winning the event in a field of 33 runners with a personal best time of 4:45.77. Fiona Klingbeil also earned a top 10 placement, finishing seventh with a time of 4:58.53. The freshman was nearly three seconds shy of her personal record in the event (4:55.23). Megan Breslin (14th, 5:16.00) rounded out the program's competitors.
On the men's side of the 1,500-meter, Norris earned another win for the Bulls, taking first place in the field of 43 runners. Norris' time of 3:52.85 was within three seconds of his personal record (3:50.35), which ranks 10th in program history. Chris Turner took seventh overall, earning first place in the second heat of the event with a time of 4:00.34. Jacob Brink (10th, 4:04.42), Connor Domoy (11th, 4:04.58) and Matt Gensel (12th, 4:06.71) also competed for the program. Brink and Gensel's participation marked their event debut.
Reddy placed third in the women's 800-meter field of 55 runners with a time of 2:14.81. The sophomore was just shy of her personal best in the event (2:14.79). van Puffelen (5th, 2:17.28) and Brettholtz (7th, 2:18.42) also posted top 10 placements.
Gordon earned second place in the men's 800-meter with a time of 1:52.24. The freshman's time was less than a second shy of the program's all-time top 10 (1:51.64). Luke Stoeffler placed third in the event (1:53.48), with Noah Brightman trailing to take fourth (1:53.98) and Nicholas Morgan in fifth (1:54.54). Michael Huebner rounded out the Bulls' competitors in 10th (1:56.41). Stoeffler's participation marked his event debut.
Jacquie Appenheimer won the women's 5,000-meter with a time of 17:59.16 to place first of 20 runners. Katie Edinger came in third (18:15.28) and Megan Smith took fifth (18:19.14) to put three Bulls inside the top five. Reese Wilber (6th, 18:28.72) and Samantha Moury (8th, 19:10.54) rounded out the program's runners to put five Bulls inside the top 10.
On the men's side of the 5,000-meter, Vincent Guaresimo placed second of 18 runners with a time of 14:50.58. The sophomore made his outdoor debut in the event.
THROWS
Krista Perry (2nd, 12.28m) and Bernice Balk (3rd, 12.23m) earned top three placements in the women's shot put to open the morning for the throwing program. Perry's mark was a new outdoor personal best. Maria Akalonu (6th, 11.53m) and Loretta White (10th, 10.53m) also earned top 10 placements.
Akalonu doubled back to win the women's discus throw with a mark of 40.53 meters. Balk placed third in the event with a distance of 34.00 meters. The duo posted top three placements in the field of 22 throwers.
White (1st, 49.26m) and Faith Hamilton (2nd, 48.64m) earned the top two spots in the women's hammer throw. Balk placed 11th in the field of 33 throwers with a mark of 37.60 meters.
van Puffelen rounded out the throwing events for the Buffalo women by taking third in the javelin throw. The sophomore posted a distance of 29.41 meters. The mark was a new personal best.
Bryson Bodner won the men's shot put with a new personal best mark of 16.46 meters. The sophomore surpassed his best of 16.41 meters. Dominic Weatherly also earned a top-five placement with a distance of 15.07 meters. Weatherly nearly reached his season-best mark of 15.16 meters in the event.
Hughes won the men's discus throw with a distance of 35.82 meters. The junior's participation marked his event debut, taking first place among 12 throwers.
Kenneth Gulloso earned third in the men's hammer throw with a mark of 52.02 meters. Freshman Julian Vitucci placed eighth in the event with a distance of 44.20 meters. The two Buffalo throwers placed top 10 in the field of 19 athletes.
All results from the UB Alumni Invitational.
UP NEXT
The Bulls will next compete at the Penn Relays on Thursday, April 23rd. A complete schedule for UB Track & Field.
For 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").
Information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Ticket information regarding all athletic events.
Players Mentioned
