Indoor Track & Field Weekly Release

Bulls Tune Up For MACs at Akron Meet

UB’s track and field teams sent a limited amount of athletes to Akron’s Zips Open in the final regular season meet of the season. There was no team scoring in the meet that also included the host Zips as well as Division III athletes and several unattached entrants. The meet served as a tune up for this weekend’s Mid-American Conference Championships.

McKenna Sets School Record in 3,000-Meter Win

Dan McKenna (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) took

Dan McKenna

the 3,000-meters in 8:29.65, setting a new UB record in the race. It was McKenna’s first time this season racing the distance as he broke Todd Ludden’s 2004 mark by three seconds. McKenna, who has IC4A qualifying marks in the mile and 1,000-meters, just missed a third qualifying time by 15-hundredths of a second. It was the second record set by McKenna during the indoor campaign, after breaking his own mile mark at the Penn State National Meet in January.

Bulls Take Top Three Spots in 400-Meter Race Freshman Rob McRae (Rexford, NY/Shenendehowa) led the Bulls to the top three spots in the men’s 400-meter dash. McRae won the race in 48.71, improving his IC4A qualifying mark by sixth-tenths of a second. Brian Heim (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) finished second in a season-best 49.12, lowering his IC4A mark aswell. Babaseyi Olaleye (Lagos, Nigeria/Lagos) was third in 51.95.

Sebuharara, Hill Take Triple Jump Crowns

Loic Sebuharara (Vestal, NY/Vestal)

Loic Sebuharara

won the men’s triple jump at 43-10 (13.36m), bettering his season-best mark in the event by six inches. Sebuharara also posted a season-best height in the high jump at 6-2 (1.88m) to place fourth behind three Akron entrants.

In the women’s competition, Fatimah Hill (Waterport, NY/Lyndonville) turned in a first-place effort in the triple jump. Hill’s leap of 18-5.75 (5.63m) was a personal best and UB’s top distance of the season. Hill won the event by almost nine inches.

Koeppel Turns In Impressive Cross Country Pefrormance

While the indoor track teams were competing at Akron, women’s distance standout

Jenny Koeppel

Jenny Koeppel (Amherst, NY/Amherst) turned in an impressive cross country showing against the nation’s top athletes. Koeppel finished 42nd of 78 at the USA Cross Country National Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx on Saturday. She completed the 8K course in 29:27, a solid time considering that the course was not in the best of shape after a record-setting snowfall in New York the previous week and three races before Koeppel’s run. Koeppel, who completed her cross country and indoor track eligibility last season, is eligible for the Bulls in the outdoor season starting next month.

MAC Championships on the Horizon

The Bulls will next compete at the Mid-American Conference Championships. The two-day meet begins on Friday, February 24 at Bowling Green. At last season’s meet at Central Michigan, the UB women finished eighth in a 13-team field as Faith Thompson won the weight throw with a record-breaking toss. The UB men placed sixth among six squads.