UB Track and Field Weekly Release

Bulls Place Sixth at MAC Championship Meets

The University at Buffalo men’s and women’s track and field squads finished sixth in their respective meets at the 2008 Mid-American Conference Track and Field Championships held in Bowling Green, OH. The UB men scored a total of 79 points for the three-day meet, while the UB women finished with 50.50 points. Akron's men's and women's squads swept their way to the team titles, including a one-point win over Eastern Michigan (183-182) in the men’s competition.

Roelofsen Wins Second Javelin Title

Vanessa Roelofsen

Senior Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) won her second consecutive Mid-American Conference javelin title Thursday night to open the three days of competition. Roelofsen won the title with a toss of 154-10 (47.20m), more than two feet better than the second-place finisher, Bekah Stoltz of Kent State (152-3, 46.42m). It was the second consecutive MAC title for Roelofsen, a first-team All-MAC honoree in 2007 and 2008 and a second-team All-MAC selection in 2005 and 2006. UB freshman Katie Weston (North Bay, Ontario/Widdifield SS) was third in the javelin with a toss of 147-9 (45.04m) and junior Amanda Bialkowski (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park) set a personal best with her throw of 122-11 (37.48m) to place ninth.

Coney Earns Another Heptathlon Crown

Patrice Coney

Senior Patrice Coney (Lyons, NY/Lyons) won her second consecutive women's heptathlon title and third overall multi-events crown to cap off a stellar career with the Bulls. Coney accumulated 4,990 points in the seven-event competition, picking up a pair of sixth-place finishes (long jump and javelin) and seventh-place finish (800-meters) on the second day to hold off a hard-charging Jen Osborn of Akron by 158 points. Coney held the lead after the first day of the two-day event after posting season-best marks in the high jump (5-5.75, 1.67m), tying for first, and the 100-meter hurdles (14.16), finishing second, and also placing second in the 200-meters (25.23). Besides the two outdoor heptathlon championships, she also won the 2006 MAC indoor penathlon title. Coney also finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in a season-best 1:02.13 and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles finals in 14.59.

Porter, Schichtel, Stamatakis, Gac Highlight Men’s Events

Ezekiel Porter

Sophomore sprinter Ezekiel Porter (Rochester, NY/East) scored a second-place finish in the men's 400-meters in 47.94, just a tenth of a second behind Eastern Michigan's Nate Blackwell (47.84). Porter also placed fourth in the 200-meter finals in 21.54. Sophomore Dan Schichtel (Eden, NY/Eden) tied the UB school record with his fifth-place finish in the men's 100-meter dash. Schichtel lowered his season-best mark to 10.64 and tied the mark set in 1998 by Mike Quagliata. Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical & Vocational School of Crete) earned an NCAA East Regional qualifying mark with his fifth-place showing in the shot put. Stamatakis posted a season-best with his throw of 55-2 (16.81m), bettering the qualifying distance by one centimeter. Matt Gac (Newark Valley, NY/Newark Valley) finished third in the discus with a throw of 163-5 (49.82m), improving his season-best mark by nine feet and finished fourth in the hammer throw at 180-8 (55.06m), an improvement of six feet from his previous best.