STATEN ISLAND — The University at Buffalo track and field team traveled to Staten Island on Saturday to participate in the Great Dane Invitational, hosted by University of Albany. The Bulls had a stellar performance, will several athletes marking new personal-records. The men had a repeat of last year, and took home a third place finish; while the women took away fourth. The primary goal for this competition was to compete and score points while getting the first meet under their belt.
Senior, Kaishaun Cathey, broke the school record in the triple-jump with a first place finish and a distance of 15.81m. His mark is a new personal best, beating his previous by nearly two feet. His mark of 15.81m is also currently leading the MAC. Freshman Gyasi Morris was the highest placing Bull on the Long Jump with an eighth place finish with a distance of 6.75m. The Bulls took first and second in the men’s shot put. Devon Patterson had a distance of 17.66m for first place; while Ryan Cribbin threw for 17.25m for second. James Hanners was also in the Top-10 with a distance of 14.48m (eighth place).
The men had an overall score of 99, falling behind George Mason and Connecticut. The men took away several Top-Five finishes at the competition. Joshua Gali, a senior from Selden, NY, placed fourth in the 60m dash with a time of 6.89. Gali also ran a very strong race in the 400m, winning the collegiate division of the Great Dane Invite in 48.14. His time currently ranks him second in the MAC. He also helped lead his 4X400m relay team to a win their section and place second overall. Mitchell Moore just missed out on a Top-Five finish in the 400m, clocking in at 49.00, a seventh place finish. Senior Craig Kaiser added to the Top-Five finishes, placing fourth in the men’s mile with a time of 4:15.43. Freshman, Caleb Covell, missed out on a Top-Ten finish in the mile by just over a second, coming in 11th place with a time of 4:19.50. Dual athletes Barrett Kemp, Lloyd Webb, Itai Bezherano, and Andrew Berge all placed in the Top-10 in the 5000m race. Kemp placed the highest at second place with a time of 14:59.76. Not far behind was Webb in fourth with a time of 15:11.81. Bezherano and Berge came in sixth (15:27.53) and seventh (15:23.11), respectively. The men’s 4X400 Relay team of Treyvon Mask, Mitchell Moore, Ryan Billian, and Gali clocked in at 3:18.28, a third place finish.
The women saw several Top-10 finishers on Saturday. Tyra Forbes, a senior from Ajax, Ontario, took third in the women’s 60m dash with a time of 7.73, beating out fourth place by 0.01 seconds. Amy Villarini saw a Top-10 finish in the 400m, clocking in at 57.53, a seventh place finish and new personal record. Dual athletes Corinne Birchard and Julia Basla came in seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 1000m. Birchard clocked in at 2:59.63, and Basla at 3:00.64. The mile saw two Bulls finish the Top-10: Melinda Wheeler (ninth) and Stephanie Ward (tenth). Wheeler clocked in at 5:05.77, and Ward at 5:05.97. Morgan Mahoney (10:19.78) and Lauren Reyda (10:24.48) placed ninth and tenth, respectively, in the women’s 3000m. Cristine Lyttle, Nikari Carota, and Emma Siuciak all placed in the Top-10 in the 60m hurdles. Lyttle took third (8.77), Carota took sixth (8.88), and Siuciak took eighth (9.03).
The women took second and third in the high-jump. Siuciak took second with a height of 1.70m, while transfer Martine Bye took third at a height of 1.65m. Jenn Thill, a junior from Buffalo, took fourth in the women’s pole vault with a height of 3.60m. Chrystal Henderson was the highest placing Bull on the women’s triple-jump. Coming in at ninth with a distance of 11.21m. Joanna Hallisy placed fourth in the women’s shot put with a distance of 12.85m. Jaskiran Dhaliwall placed fourth (18.13m), Miranda Daucher placed seventh (17.05m), and McKenzie Kuehlewind placed tenth (15.96m) in the women’s weight throw. Dhaliwall set a new personal record with her distance of 18.13m. Her distance is also MAC auto-qualifying and currently ranked third in the conference.
With just under six weeks until MAC Championships, the Bulls are already on the path to success. They will see competition again next week, when they travel to compete in the Upstate Challenge on Jan. 21.
from UBBulls.com via IFTTT
