Bulls Ink Stellar Results At Elite Track And Field Meet

Fatimah Hill sets school record in long jump at New Balance Collegiate Meet
NEW YORK, NY – Competing against a handful of the nation’s top ranked programs, the University at Buffalo men’s and women’s indoor track and field teams recorded outstanding results at the New Balance Collegiate Meet, held Friday and Saturday in New York City.

Fatimah Hill

The Bulls were led by junior Fatimah Hill (Waterport, NY/Lyndonville), who won the College Division of the women’s long jump with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 6.18m. Hill’s distance was also a school record and a personal best, as she broke the record that she set in 2007 of 5.89m.

Other strong performances in field events were turned in by Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), Tiffany Maskulinski (Elma, NY/Iroquois) and Lataya Dixon (Edison, NJ/J.P. Stevens).

Tina Villa

Villa placed third overall in the women’s shot put Championship Division with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and personal best distance of 15.52m. Maskulinski, meanwhile, finished sixth in the Championship Division of the pole vault, matching her season best height of 3.95m while Dixon won the College Division of the high jump with a season best mark of 1.70m.

On the track, Buffalo’s women turned in impressive times, as Christine Sprehe (Boston, NY/Orchard Park) ran a personal best in the 1000-meter Championship run, placing 12th in a field of 34 women. Additionally, Jessica Schultz (Rochester, NY/Eastridge) and Nicole Soblosky (Colonie, NY/Colonie) both raced well in the 5000-meter run as Schultz finished in 18:01.10 while Soblosky crossed the finish in 18:11.05.

Ezekiel Porter

On the men’s side, Ezekiel Porter (Rochester, NY/Rochester) continued his outstanding 2008 indoor season, as the sophomore placed 16th out of over 100 men in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.69. In addition, Dan Schitchel (Eden, NY/Eden), had a great meet for the Bulls, as he won his heat in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.94, placing him 33rd out of 98 competitors.

Also on the track, the men’s 4 x 400-meter relay team consisting of Porter, John Bauman (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville North), John Connors (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) and Brandon Giles (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) won the New York State championship, turning in a time of 3:19.35, edging out SUNY rival Binghamton, among other schools from around the state.

Alex Stamatakis

In the field events, the Bulls’ men were strong as Peter Bligh (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) tied for seventh in a field of 23 competitors in the high jump with a height of 2.04m while Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical & Vocational School of Crete) threw a personal best distance of 17.81m in the weight throw, which placed him 13th out of 31 competitors.

The Bulls will next compete at the Akron Open, scheduled for Friday, February 22 in Akron, OH. The Akron Open will serve as the final meet prior to the Mid-American Conference Championships, slated for Feb. 28-March 1 in Ypsilanti, MI.

02/09/2008