Track Teams Roll at Cornell Outdoor Invitational

ITHACA, NY – The University at Buffalo men’s and women’s track teams posted strong results at the Cornell Outdoor Invitational Saturday at the Robert J. Kane Sports Complex. The Bulls won 11 total events at the non-scoring meet.

The UB men took home seven first-place finishes while the women won four events. Two Bulls qualified for the USATF Junior Nationals this summer while two Bulls set two stadium records.

Brian Smith (North Tonawanda, NY/Nichols) won the men’s 200-meters in 21.30. The time broke the UB school record of 21.44 set by Joe Clark in 2003 and tied by Ezekiel Porter (Rochester, NY/East) earlier in the 2008 campaign. Smith’s time also was an NCAA regional and junior national qualifying mark.

Porter, meanwhile, won the 400-meters in 47.86, establishing a new stadium record. He was also part of UB’s victorious 4x400-meter relay team as the foursome set a season-best of 3:18.25.

Ryan Bloom

The UB men also won a pair of distance events. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Ryan Bloom (Spencerport, NY/Spencerport) took the race in 9:37.35, posting a season-best time and earning a junior national qualifying time. Dan Giza (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) won the men’s 1,500-meters in 3:58.03.

In the field, UB’s George Fetchko (Warren, OH/Howland) took the shot put with a throw of 54-10 (16.71m), establishing a season-best and a Kane Complex record. Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical and Vocational School of Crete) won the men’s discus with a throw of 165-8 (50.49m).

Nicole Soblosky

The UB women set a pair of season-best times in their two wins on the track. Nicole Soblosky (Colonie, NY/Colonie) won the 3,000-meter run in a season-best 10:33.50. Allison Grimes (Georgetown, TX/Georgetown) posted another season-best in the 400-meters, taking the race in 58.00. Grimes sliced .39 seconds from her previous best, posted two weeks ago at the UB Invitational.

Two Bulls won women’s field events. Caitlin Godin (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) took the high jump at 5-5 (1.65m) while Tiffany Maskulinski (Elma, NY/Iroquois) won the women’s pole vault at11-11.75 (3.65m). Carrie Hinners (Maple Grove, MN/Maple Grove) finished second to Maskulinski at 10-6 (3.20m).

The Bulls make their regular season finale next Saturday at the Campbell/Wright Open at the University of Akron. The Mid-American Conference Championships begin May 15 in Bowling Green, OH.