University at Buffalo
MAC Outdoor Championships
Blair & van Puffelen Medal on Day Two of MAC Outdoor Championships
5/15/2026 8:39:00 PM | Track and Field
MUNCIE, Ind. – The University at Buffalo track and field program competed at day two of the MAC Outdoor Championships on Friday, hosted by Ball State University. Micah Blair and Isa van Puffelen medaled as the Bulls continued their momentum, with six additional athletes taking the podium and four more qualifying for event finals on Saturday. The team also added three performances to the UB outdoor record book.
Kenneth Gulloso was the first Bull to take the podium on day two. The senior posted a mark of 58.02 meters in the hammer throw to place fifth. The performance was also a new personal best and ranks fifth in program history. Freshman Julian Vittuci also competed for the Bulls, placing 13th (45.98m).
van Puffelen earned the Bulls' first medal of conference championships with a second-place finish in the women's heptathlon. The sophomore's score of 5,161 was a new personal record that ranks third in program history. van Puffelen began day two by placing fifth in the long jump (5.44m). The sophomore then placed eighth in the javelin throw (28.69m). van Puffelen closed out the heptathlon earning first place in the women's 800-meter dash with a time of 2:20.03.
Krista Perry competed in the heptathlon for the program too, placing ninth with a score of 4,692. The senior was just shy of her personal best in the event (4,772) that ranks 10th in program history. Perry started her second day of competition by finishing 10th in the long jump (5.03m). The senior next finished seventh in the javelin throw (31.10m) and fifth in the 800-meter (2:29.13).
Blair earned the Bulls' second medal of the weekend, taking third in the men's long jump with a mark of 7.25 meters. Blair was just shy of his personal best in the event (7.26m), which ranks 10th in program history. Mitch Diamond also took the podium for the Bulls, finishing eighth with a distance of 6.81 meters.
Kara Moran grabbed a spot on the podium in the women's long jump. The junior's mark of 5.87 meters earned seventh place. Uma Bhattacharjee also competed for the Bulls, finishing 20th with a jump of 5.35 meters.
Brady Hughes placed fifth in the men's decathlon with a personal best score of 6,167. The sophomore's performance over the 10 events was a personal best that fell just shy of the program's all-time top 10 (6,228). Hughes opened day two by placing sixth in the men's 110-meter hurdles, posting a time of 16.11. The junior continued by earning second in the discus throw with a personal best mark of 37.52 meters and second in the javelin throw with a mark of 47.14 meters. Hughes closed out the second day of competition by finishing fifth in the pole vault (3.82m) and eighth in the 1,500-meter (5:29.08).
Collin Stafford, Luke Stoeffler and Cameron Bogdan competed in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Stafford was the program's top finisher and earned a spot on the podium with a time of 9:19.27 to place eighth. Stoeffler finished ninth with a time of 9:25.04 and Bogdan finished 10th with a time of 9:25.82. Ella Reilly was the program's top finisher on the women's side, placing 17th with a personal best time of 11:07.79. The sophomore's time surpassed her previous best of 11:09.76 and was just over three seconds shy of reaching the program's all-time top 10 (11:04.50). Kaitlyn Edinger also competed for the Bulls, finishing 19th with a personal record time of 11:28.82.
Bryson Bodner posted a personal best performance in the men's shot put with a mark of 16.63 meters to place eighth. The sophomore surpassed his previous record of 16.46 meters. Freshman Dominic Weatherly also competed for the Bulls, posting a distance of 15.17 meters to finish 13th. Maria Akalonu was the top finisher in the women's shot put, taking 15th with a personal record throw of 13.22 meters. Bernice Balk also competed for the program, finishing 19th with a mark of 12.85 meters.
Michael Parks qualified for the 110-meter hurdles finals, scheduled for Saturday at 11:50 a.m. The program record holder posted a time of 14.05 seconds, nearly four tenths of a second faster than any other sprinter in the two-heat preliminary round (14.41).
Matthew Schaffert qualified for the 100-meter dash finals, scheduled for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Schaffert finished seventh in the preliminary round of the event with a time of 10.70. Freshman Keoni Chong placed 10th with a time of 10.82, less than one-tenth of a second shy of the finals cut in the event (10.77).
Aidan Norris and Noah Brightman qualified for the 800-meter finals, with both runners earning a top three placement in the preliminary round. Norris was the top finisher with a time of 1:49.79, less than three tenths of a second shy of his personal best that ranks fourth in program outdoor history (1:49.50). Brightman's time of 1:50.12 earned third in the field of 15 runners and was a new personal best that also ranks sixth in program history. The event finals are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Linnea Neureuther competed in the preliminary round of 100-meter hurdles, finishing 10th with a time of 14.23 seconds. The sophomore missed the finals qualifying mark by one-hundredth of a second (14.22). Gemma Galligani posted a time of 14.28 seconds to place 12th and Olga Skolasinska finished 17th with a time of 14.70. Galligani will compete on Saturday, having qualified for the 400-meter hurdles finals on Thursday.
Fernando Sanchez competed in the men's 400-meter dash preliminary round, finishing 10th overall with a time of 49.34 seconds. Sanchez missed the finals cut by less than two tenths of a second (49.18).
Juliette Salazar was the program's top finisher in the preliminary round of the women's 800-meter, finishing 10th with a time of 2:10.88. Salazar missed the finals qualifying cut of 2:09.28. The performance was a new personal record for the junior, surpassing her previous best of 2:10.94 to tie Kate Kohou (2006) for seventh in program history. Meghana Reddy also competed for the Bulls, placing 26th (2:21.61).
Hailey Martinez competed for the Bulls in the 100-meter dash. The sophomore placed 25th in the preliminary round with a time of 12.17.
WOMEN'S STANDINGS
| Akron | 73.5 |
| Miami (OH) | 41 |
| Kent State | 39.5 |
| UMass | 31 |
| Western Michigan | 31 |
| Eastern Michigan | 18 |
| Central Michigan | 16 |
| Buffalo | 13 |
| Ohio | 13 |
| Ball State | 13 |
| Toledo | 12 |
| Bowling Green | 7 |
| Northern Illinois | 4 |
MEN'S STANDINGS
| Akron | 112 |
| Miami (OH) | 70 |
| Kent State | 56 |
| Eastern Michigan | 46 |
| UMass | 43 |
| Buffalo | 24 |
The Bulls close out the 2026 MAC Outdoor Championships on Saturday. Action begins at 9 a.m. and is scheduled to continue through 4 p.m.
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