Fatimah Hill Wins MAC Long Jump Title

Fatimah Hill

AKRON, OH – University at Buffalo senior Fatimah Hill won the 2009 Mid-American Conference women’s long jump title on Friday as the second day of the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships came to a conclusion.

Hill claimed her first MAC title as she took the long jump competition with a leap of 19-9.75 (6.04m) to win the event by more than five inches over second-place finisher Ashley Hunault of Western Michigan. Hill, who has already qualified for this month’s NCAA East Regional Championships, was the only individual to clear six meters.

Caitlin Godin finished second in the women’s heptathlon, just missing the school record in the seven-event competition. Godin finished the day with 5,096 points, 20 points off of Patrice Coney’s 2007 mark when she won the MAC title. First day leader Diana Dumitrescu of Kent State won the competition with 5,429 points.

Caitlin Godin

Men’s shot putter Jake Madonia earned an NCAA East Regional qualification distance with his second-place finish. Madonia posted a throw of 55-1.50 (16.80m), just meeting the minimum distance. The throw was a season-best for Madonia as he added almost five inches to his top mark.

Jake Madonia

UB also had strong performances in two other weight throwing events with a pair of fourth-place showings. In the men’s hammer throw, Matt Gac had a toss of 180-1 (54.88m). Freshman Kristy Woods placed fourth in the women’s shot put at 50-0.75 (15.26m) to improve on her NCAA regional qualifying mark. Senior Tina Villa was seventh at 48-0 (14.63m), also improving her regional mark.

Also scoring for the UB men were Ryan Bloom and Jordan Addison. Bloom took seventh in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:29.01. Addison finished eighth in the two-day decathlon with a 10-event total of 5,917 points.

Several UB tracksters reached Saturday’s finals after their qualifying heats on Friday.

Dan Giza had the second-fastest time in the men’s 1,500-meters as he qualified for Saturday’s final in 3:59.65. Ryan Zillmann also qualified in 4:05.91. Women’s distance specialist Mary Veith qualified third in 4:32.58 in the women’s 1,500-meters.

UB’s men’s hurdlers also had several qualifiers. In the 110-meter event, Jamaal Norward and Austin Archibald moved into Saturday’s final while John Connors, Brendan Hagerty and James Thurn advanced into the 400-meter hurdle final. Lataya Dixon earned a spot in the women’s 100-meter hurdle championship.

The UB men will be represented in the sprints by Dan Harris and Dan Schichtel who had the third- and fourth-fastest times in the 100-meter preliminaries. Brian Smith qualified fourth in the 200-meters and Ezekiel Porter qualified fifth in the 400-meters. Sean Brummert reached the men’s 800-meter final.

Through eight women’s events, the Bulls are fourth out of 12 squads with 39 points. The UB men are sixth in the six-team men’s meet with 22 points after seven events. Host Akron leads both the men’s and women’s championships.

Competition concludes Saturday.

Men’s scores (through seven events): Akron 72, Eastern Michigan 55, Kent State 52, Central Michigan 38, Miami (Ohio) 34, UB 22.

Women's scores (through eight events): Akron 66, Ohio 45, Kent State 42.50, UB 39, Bowling Green 31, Miami (Ohio) 22, Toledo 20, Ball State 15.50, Western Michigan 13, Central Michigan 12, Northern Illinois 3, Eastern Michigan 3.