TRACK & FIELD

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STATE COLLEGE, PA - The University at Buffalo's men's and women's indoor track and field teams put on some strong showings against top national competition at the Penn State National Open, which completed competition on Saturday.

Jenelle Callender

UB's women's team set five new school records in the two-day meet including a pair by senior sprint specialist Jenelle Callender (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn Tech). Callender broke the 60-meter dash record with a clocking of 7.75 seconds to finish 16th overall, bettering the time of 7.84 set by Charisse Everett (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) last season. Callender also broke Udo Okeke's mark in the 400-meters with a time of 56.83 to place 10th, slicing nearly a half-second off the old record.

Other record setters for the Bulls included Laura Olson (Lyons, NY/Lyons) in the pole vault, Faith Thompson (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) in the 20-pound weight throw and Biaunca McFarland (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) in the triple jump.

Olson, for the fourth consecutive meet this season, bettered her record in the pole vault. Her height of 12-6 (3.81m) was six inches better than the mark she set last week and is nearly a foot better than her best height at the end of the 2002 indoor season. Friday's mark was bettered by only Akron's Kira Sims, who cleared 13-5 (4.09m) to establish a new facility record at the Penn State complex. Thompson registered a toss of 59-0 (17.98m) in the 20-pound weight throw to finish second behind Virginia's Eliese Mitchell (59-7, 18.16m). Thompson's throw bettered Sarah Fletcher's 2001 record by two inches. McFarland scored a fifth-place finish with her record-setting performance in the triple jump with a leap of 41-7.75 (12.69m) to eclipse the record she set last week by three-quarters of an inch. Olson and Thompson each took second-place finishes on Friday's opening night.

The women's 4x400 relay squad of Callender, Mindy Gorniak (Erie, PA/McDowell), Christina Keck (Erie, PA/McDowell) and McFarland finished sixth in 3:50.56, just four-tenths off the school record.

For the UB men, Joe Clark (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) and Byron McKinney (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) picked up fourth-place finishes.

Clark turned in a 48.21 clocking in the 400-meter dash while McKinney had a top shot put toss of 54-7.25 (16.64m).

Freshman Todd Joki (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) finished 11th in the long jump at 22-7.75 (6.90m) and Jerimie Slick (Rochester, NY/Greece-Olympia) just missed the school record in the 3000-meters with a time of 8:37.78, a half-second off the pace set by Eric Czubaj last season.

The squads are in action again next Saturday at the Colgate Class of '32 Invitational.