Outdoor Track and Field Weekly Release

Bulls Score Third-Place Finishes at Miami Invite

After a three-week layoff, the University at Buffalo's men's and women's track and field teams returned to competition on Saturday with third-place finishes for both squads at the Miami Invitational, hosted by Mid-American Conference foe Miami University. The UB women scored 91 points to finish behind host Miami with 199.50 points and Cincinnati with 107 points in the 14 squad field. The UB men picked up 106 points to finish behind Cincinnati (213) and Miami (125) among the 11 men's teams at the meet.

UB Women Sweep Throwing Events

Vanessa Roelofsen

The UB women won four events at the Miami meet, all in throwing events. Headlining the winners for the Bulls was Sarah Vance (Lockport, NY/Lockport) with two victories as well as a second-place finish. Vance took the hammer throw with a season-best mark of 178-10 (54.50m), improving on her NCAA East Regional qualifying mark from earlier this season. She also won the shot put with a throw of 46-7.25 (14.20m) to take the event by two feet over teammate Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs), who placed second at 44-3.50 (13.50m). Vance and Villa switched finishes in the women's discus throw with Villa coming out on top at 138-0 (42.06m) while Vance placed second at 131-5 (40.06m). Also winning for the UB women was Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) with a top javelin throw of 141-1 (43.01m).

Madonia, Higgins, Joki Score Men’s Victories

Rayshon Higgins

For the UB men, Jake Madonia (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) scored a first-place finish in the discus throw and a second-place nod in the men's shot put. Madonia's winning discus toss was 147-8 (45.00m), a season-best mark for the sophomore. He also turned in a shot put toss of 51-5 (15.67m). Also picking up a victory for the UB men was Rayshon Higgins (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon-St. Jude) in the triple jump. Higgins, in his first competition of the spring, soared a distance of 47-4.50 (14.44m) in the triple jump to win the event by more than a foot and a half. He also placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 20-10 (6.35m). Todd Joki (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) won the men's 110-meter hurdles in 15.13 seconds.

Distance Runners Shine at Bucknell Meet

While most of the squad was competing at the Miami meet, three UB distance runners competed at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic. Dan McKenna (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) scored a second-place finish in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a clocking of 9:19.50 while Mary Vieth (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) took third in the women’s 1,500-meter run in 4:32.16. Andy Leonard (Spencerport, NY/Churchville-Chili) competed in the men’s 5,000-meter run, finishing in 15:13.54.

UB Open Slated for Saturday

The Bulls host the UB Open this Saturday. Field events will commence at 10:00 am while track contests get underway at noon. The competition will be at UB Stadium.