UB Track and Field Weekly Release

Men Fifth, Women Sixth at MAC Championships

The University at Buffalo men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Mid-American Conference Championships at Kent State over the weekend. UB’s men finished with 61 points, placing fifth in the five-team meet, but just three points behind fourth-place Central Michigan (64). UB’s women finished in the middle of the pack with 52 points for sixth place among 12 MAC programs. The Kent State men (159) and Akron women (126) won the team titles.

Stamatakis Earns MAC Shot Put Title

Alex Stamatakis

Senior Alex Stamatakis became a Mid-American Conference champion as he won his signature event, the men’s shot put. Stamatakis ended with a throw of 56-10.75 (17.34m) to win the event by six inches over Eastern Michigan’s Gerald Gersham. He improved his performance in the event with each successive throw starting with a toss of 53-4 (16.26m) through his winning toss on his next to last attempt. His win was the first MAC indoor title for the UB men since 2007 and Stamatakis was UB's lone representative on the All-MAC First Team.

Dixon Takes Second-Place Finish in High Jump

Lataya Dixon

In the women’s meet, Lataya Dixon was the leading finisher as she earned a pair of ECAC qualifying marks at the MAC meet. Dixon finished second in the high jump at 5-7.75 (1.72m) and seventh in the 60-meters hurdles in 8.80 seconds. Both were season-best performances for the sophomore who earned Second Team All-MAC honors.

Distance Medley Relay Teams Finish Third

Dan Giza

Both of UB’s distance medley relay teams finished third in their respective races in the first day of competition. In the men’s race, the UB foursome of Ryan Zillmann, James Thurn, Shaun Brummert and Dan Giza turned in a clocking of 10:00.16, just three-quarters of a second off the school record. The UB women finished in 11:53.35. The Bulls’ foursome included Mary Veith, Allison Grimes, Christine Sprehe and Jessica Schultz.

Christine Sprehe

The men also set a new school record in the 4x400-meter relay as the foursome of Ezekiel Porter, Isaiah Mask, Brandon Giles and Matt Armstrong finished second to Kent State in 3:13.43, cutting a second off the previous best.

Regional Competitions on Tap This Weekend

Both the men’s and women’s squads will be sending individuals to the IC4A and ECAC regional competitions in Boston this weekend. The men’s IC4A meet and the women’s ECAC competition are slated to get started at 11:30 am on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8.