TRACK & FIELD

Men's Roster  |  Women's Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

UB Men's Indoor Track and Field Announces Awards

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men’s indoor track and field squad announced its team awards for the 2007-08 season. Head coach Perry Jenkins made the following presentations: Matt Gac (Newark Valley, NY/Newark Valley) was selected as the Top Newcomer; Dan Giza (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) earned the Most Improved Player Award; Ryan Zillmann (Deer Park, NY/Half Hollow Hills West) received the Coaches’ Award; and Ezekiel Porter (Rochester, NY/East) was named Most Outstanding.

Matt Gac

The Top Newcomer Award is presented to the individual student-athlete who distinguishes himself as the most talented new player on the team or the individual who accomplishes the greatest achievements as a first-year player. Gac set season-best marks in both the weight throw and shot put at the Mid-American Conference Championships on February 29 and March 1. Gac finished third in the weight throw with a toss of 60-1.25 (18.32m), setting the school record, and finished the shot put with a best throw of 49-1.75 (14.98m) for ninth place at the MAC meet.

Dan Giza

The Most Improved Player Award is presented to the student-athlete who has made the greatest stride or improvement in his performance from the previous season or from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Giza broke the school record in the men's 3,000-meter run at the season-opening Akron Quad meet on January 11. He turned in a clocking of 8:24.57, more than five seconds better than the previous mark. At the MAC Championships, he finished fourth in the 3,000-meters in 8:26.39 and was also part of UB's third-place distance medley relay squad (10:09.41), running the anchor leg. Giza also posted top indoor times of 4:11.30 in the mile and 14:47.76 in the 5,000-meters during the regular season.

Ryan Zillmann

The Coaches’ Award is selected by the head coach and is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the team virtues as defined by the head coach. The recipient is one who stands out in dedication, commitment, unselfishness and enthusiasm towards helping the team improve. Zillmann set a season-best time with his eighth-place finish in the mile (4:21.73) at the MAC Championships. He also ran the opening leg of UB's distance medley relay (10:09.41) that finished third. Zillmann led the Bulls with the fastest men's times in the 800-meters (1:54.78) and 1,000-meters (2:29.15) during the regular season.

Ezekiel Porter

The Most Outstanding Award is given to the student-athlete who makes the most significant contribution to the accomplishments of the team through his skills and leadership. Porter, the team's Top Newcomer in 2007, was UB's top sprinter as he posted a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash at the MAC Championships in 6.86 seconds after setting a season-best time of 6.81 in the preliminary heats. He also reached the championship race of the 200-meters, finishing sixth in 22.16 seconds. During the regular season, Porter posted a pair of season-best times at Penn State track meets. In the 200-meters, he ran 21.58 at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge meet on February 2. The previous weekend, January 26, he helped the Bulls to their fastest showing of the season in the 4x400-meter relay as he ran the opening leg and the Bulls finished in 3:17.52. Porter also earned Academic All-MAC honors from the league for his work in the classroom.

The Bulls tied for fourth among five schools at the MAC Championships in Ypsilanti, MI.