UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO ATHLETICS
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The University at Buffalo track and field team completed day one of the 2017 Outdoor Track and Field Mid-American Conference Championships hosted by Western Michigan on Thursday. The Bulls saw great performances from an array of athletes, with a number of podium finishes.
Martine Bye found her way to the podium with a third place finish in the women’s javelin. Bye’s bronze-medal throw came on her sixth attempt, when she threw for a distance of 44.13m. Her distance beat fourth place by over three meters and earned six points for the team’s overall score.
Arnis Mehmetaj and Barrett Kemp also found themselves on the podium, each finishing fifth in their respective events. Mehmetaj threw for a distance of 56.02m in the men’s javelin for fifth. His distance beat sixth place by nearly four meters and earned two points for the men’s overall score. Kemp clocked in at 31:06.54 in the men’s 10,000m for fifth place. Kemp beat sixth place by nearly 13 seconds and garnered two points for the team’s overall score.
Meagan Hopkins led the way for the women in the 10,000m. Hopkins clocked in at 36:14.50 for eighth place. Not far behind was teammate Rachel Barich. Barich clocked in at 36:58.96.
Michael Morgan is sitting in second place in the men’s decathlon after the first day of competition. Morgan placed in the Top-Three in four of the five events of the day. He placed second in both the long jump and the shot put, while taking third in the high jump and 400m dash. Morgan jumped to a distance of 6.84m in the long jump, and threw for a distance of 13.14m in the shot put, both for second place. He tied for third in the high jump after clearing a height of 1.84m. Morgan’s other third place finish came in the 400m, where he clocked in at 50.16. Morgan also took fifth in the 100m with a time of 11.25. He sits in second with a total score of 3726.
Selina Von Jackowski performed well in the first day of the women’s heptathlon. She is currently sitting with 3126 points. Von Jackowski set new personal best in all of her events today. She took first in the 100HH and 200m dash clocking in at 13.65 and 24.28, respectively. Von Jackowski cleared a height of 1.51m in the high jump and threw for a distance of 9.70m in the shot put portions of the heptathlon.
The Bulls are back in action on Friday for day two of the three-day championship. The first event is scheduled to begin at 11:00am.
