BULLS NEWS

UB Athletes Help Western Squad Pull Away At Empire State Games

Roy Richards

Current Bulls took home 12 medals in the track and field events, and former UB athletes Faith Thompson and Steve Esler also brought home golds. Esler, who is currently an assistant coach for the Bulls, won the gold in the decathlon, scoring 6,591 points and finishing first in nine of the 10 events.

Roy Richards (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech), who made a trip to the NCAA Championships in June, won three medals, including golds in the long jump (7.32m) and the 4x100-meter relay (41.42). Richards also brought home a bronze in the 100-meter dash (10.94). Richards joined with two of his Buffalo teammates in the 4x100, as Bryan Weinstein (Getsville, NY/Williamsville North) and Reggie Rucker (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) also picked up the gold with the two legs of the race they ran. Weinstein also recorded bronze medal finishes in the 200-meter dash (22.55) and as a member of the 4x400-meter relay.

Mike Giordano (Springville, NY/Springville) brought home the gold in the shot put (17.13m), while his teammate George Fetchko (Warren, OH/Howland) finished in fourth place.

Stacy Downer

On the ladies side, Stacy Downer (Philadelphia, PA/Dobbins/Randolph Tech) picked up one of each medal, grabbing the gold in the 4x100-meter relay, the silver in the 100-meter dash (12.46) and a bronze in the 200-meter dash (26.10). Caitlin Godin (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) won a silver in the high jump (1.65m) and Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Spring), competing for the Adirondack region, won a silver in the shot put (12.94m) and a bronze in the discuss (42.81m).

Aaron Moessinger

In the pool, Aaron Moessinger (Elma, NY/Iroquois) took home two medals, including a gold in the 400-meter individual medley and a bronze in the 100-meter fly.

On the wrestling mats, Eric Piedimonte (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) fell in his two matches and out on the softball diamond Dana Carter (Wiliiamsville, NY/Williamsville South) helped lead her team to a fourth place finish as she went 8-for-20 (.400) with three runs batted in for the tournament.

Heather Turner

The women's basketball team finished in fourth place, falling in the bronze medal game. UB assistant coach, Kelly Morrone scored a team-high 15 points in the bronze medal game, while Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) added 14 points. Stephanie Bennett (Springfield, OH/Kenton Ridge) scored 17 points in a game against the Central region. Also competing for the Western team was former UB player, Brooke Meunier.

Brandie Clark

The volleyball squad, which UB head coach Jim Lodes was assistant coach for, finished second to the New York City team, and was comprised of present and former UB players. Brandie Clark (Medicine Hat, Alberta/Medicine Hat) and assistant coach, Ladi Iya, were both members of the team, while former UB volleyball standouts Lindsay Matikosh, Molly Schrantz and Candi (Sims) Werkmeister also helped the Western team to a silver medal finish. Former Buffalo assistant coach Todd Kamenash was the team's head coach. Cathy Hummel, a former UB volleyball assistant coach, led the Western scholastic team to their fifth straight gold medal.

The UB men's soccer team, which finished second in the Mid-American Conference last fall, was a huge part of the success of the Western men's soccer team. Coached by UB assistant Dave Hesch, the team won the gold medal against the NYC squad on penalty kicks. It was the second straight game the Western team won on penalty kicks after winning the opener in the tournament, 2-1. In the one-goal victory, two UB players combined for the winning goal as Lee Catchpole (Norwich, England/Bungay) set up Eric Jaanimagi (Henrietta, NY/Rush-Henrietta) for the game-winner

Lee Catchpole

Also contributing for the Bulls were David Chojnowski (Rochester, NY/Hilton), Brian Knapp (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Jon Martin (Syracuse, NY/Westhill) and recent graduates Greg Galmore and Matt Stuczynski.