TRACK & FIELD

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WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The University at Buffalo men's and women's track and field teams opened up their outdoor schedules Saturday at the Wake Forest Relays. There was no team scoring at the meet that included several squads from North Carolina and Virginia as well as the Bulls.

Sarah Fletcher

Women's weight thrower Sarah Fletcher (Ridgeway, ON/Ridgeway-Crystal Beach) returned to top form after sitting out the 2001 outdoor season as well as the 2002 indoor season. Fletcher took two first place finishes on Saturday winning the discus throw at 43.33 meters and the hammer throw at 52.04 meters. Teammate Faith Thompson (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) placed second behind Fletcher in the hammer at 48.38 meters and took third in the shot put at 12.92 meters.

Melissa Burrows (Norwood, NY/Norwood-Norfolk) was the top collegiate athlete in the 3000 meter run placing second in 10:24.39 behind an unattached entrant. Triple jumpers Biaunca McFarland (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton), Bernadette Boswell (Yonkers, NY/Roosevelt) and April Pabilonia (Clarence, NY/Clarence) placed third, fourth and fifth respectively. McFarland jumped 11.71 meters, Boswell cleared 11.44 meters and Pabilonia finished at 10.85 meters. The Bulls also placed third in the 4x400 relay in 4:01.86.

Joe Loiacono

In the men's meet, Joe Loiacono (Rochester, NY/Greece-Olympia) won the discus competition with a throw of 45.72 meters. Loiacono also placed third in the shot put at 15.96 meters. Teammate Byron McKinney (Amherst, NY/Sweet Home) finished second in the shot put toss, setting a new school record at 16.24 meters. Both shot put marks bettered Loiacono's school record mark of 15.91 meters set in the 2000 season.

Distance runners Pete Zaccariello (Staten Island, NY/Tottenville) and Todd Ludden (Hornell, NY/Hornell) also opened the outdoor season in strong fashion. Zaccariello took third in the 800 meters in 1:54.94 behind a pair of Wake Forest finishers. Ludden finished fourth in the 1500 meters in 4:00.29. Ludden also placed 25th in the 800 meters in 2:05.33. The Bulls' 4x100 relay squad finished third in 43.30 behind a squad from Appalachian State and an unattached entry.

Byron McKinney

Both teams will remain in North Carolina during the spring break, competing at North Carolina State's Raleigh Relays next weekend.