Men Take Fifth, Women Place Seventh As MAC Track Championships Conclude

Dan Harris

AKRON, OH – The Mid-American Conference Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Championships came to close on Saturday with the University at Buffalo men putting on a strong effort to climb to fifth place in the overall standings. The UB women took seventh in their field.

The Bulls moved up to fifth place in the six-team men’s meet by posting scorers in 11 events and registering 67 of their 89 total points on Saturday. The UB women finished in seventh place among 12 schools with a total of 61 points, a point and a half shy of sixth-place Ball State’s 62.50. Homestanding Akron won both the men’s and women’s titles.

Leading the UB men on Saturday was a record breaking performance in the 4x100-meter relay finals. The foursome of Dan Schichtel, Ezekiel Porter, Dan Harris and Brian Smith finished in second place in 40.46 seconds, lowering the school record of 40.62 that the Bulls set earlier in the season. The time also lowered the NCAA East Regional qualifying mark for the event.

John Connors

Harris also posted a second-place individual finish in the men’s 100-meters in a season-best 10.56, two-hundredths of a second off the school record. Harris was awarded the runnerup slot after the photo finish showed he had nipped third-placer Aaron Dobson of Akron by eight-thousandths of a second. Schichtel, the UB record holder in the event, was seventh in 10.87.

Also picking up a second-place finish for the UB men was John Connors. Connors turned in a season-best time of 52.70 in the 400-meter hurdles as the Bulls scored three individuals in the race. James Thurn was sixth in 54.50 and Brendan Hagerty was eighth in 55.25.

Corey Knox

Smith and Corey Knox had third-place finishes in their events. Smith took third in the men’s 200-meters in 21.47. Knox set a season best in the discus with a toss of 160-4 (48.86m), adding more than a foot onto his previous best. Porter finished fourth in the men’s 400-meter final in a season-best 47.25. Porter and Smith joined Shaun Brummert and Barry Mask to place fourth in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:13.73.

UB also had a pair of men reach the 400-meter hurdles final as both Austin Archibald and Jamal Norward set season-best times in the race. Archibald placed fourth in 14.56 while Norward took sixth in 14.66.

Brummert also finished fifth in the 800-meters in a season-best 1:52.85. Also earning points for the UB men were Dan Giza in the 1,500-meters in 3:57.28 for seventh place and Ben Maxwell in the triple jump with a season-best leap of 44-9.75 (13.66m).

Allison Grimes

The UB women scored in five events on the final day. Highlighting the team’s efforts was a third-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay as the foursome of Caitlin Godin, Jackie Burns, Anna Holmes and Allison Grimes turned in a season best 3:48.07, lowering the top mark by six seconds.

Senior Tina Villa finished fourth in the women’s discus throw. Villa posted a best toss of 153-1 (46.66m), just nine inches off her season best mark.

The Bulls had a pair of women’s triple jumpers earn points on Saturday. Kim Black placed fifth in the event at 39-0.25 (11.89m) while Fatimah Hill, who won the MAC women’s long jump title on Friday, finished sixth at 38-11 (11.86m).

On the track, Mary Veith was sixth in the 1,500-meters in 4:33.59 and Lataya Dixon finished eighth in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.63.

Following the meet, the league announced the All-MAC squads. Hill earned First Team All-MAC women's honors while Godin was named Second Team All-MAC. The UB men had six athletes selected to the Second Team All-MAC, Harris, Connors, Schichtel, Porter, Smith and Jake Madonia.

Up next for the Bulls is the NCAA East Regional Championships in Greensboro, NC on the weekend of May 29-30. Only those individuals or relay teams that have achieved a regional qualifying mark will compete for the chance to advance to the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Men’s final scores: Akron 197, Eastern Michigan 178, Kent State 172, Central Michigan 103, UB 89, Miami (Ohio) 74.

Women’s final scores: Akron 147, Kent State 106.50, Western Michigan 103, Miami (Ohio) 95.50, Ohio 73, Ball State 62.50, UB 61, Eastern Michigan 53, Bowling Green 43, Central Michigan 37.50, Toledo 27, Northern Illinois 10.