Track and field traveled to Kent, OH over the weekend to compete in the Mid-American Indoor Conference Championships. The men placed fourth out of four teams with 64 points, while the women placed 10th out of 12 teams with 24 points.
UB struggled as a team, but individual athletes stood out.
Junior Dustin Meyer earned a bronze medal in pole vaulting with a height of 4.81-meters. Senior Scott Loforte secured his spot on the podium in the 5,000-meter race after finishing in 14:25.50 to become the third-fastest 5K runner in program history.
Junior Jonathan Surdej — who won the 2021 outdoor championships in shot put — once again took home the gold with a 17.64-meter launch. UB has won 11 of its last 14 MAC track and field titles for shot put.
Fifth year senior Brandon Burke also won his second consecutive title, after he soared 2.2 meters in the high jump.
The men’s distance relay team — graduate student Thomas Flannery, junior Alex Hislop, freshman Fernando Sanchez and sophomore Evan Hilbert — crushed its season-best time by nearly 18 seconds (9:55.16) to take home a bronze medal.
Flannery grabbed a bronze medal for the second time on Saturday with a time of 8:23.53 in the 3,000-meter race.
The women’s team also enjoyed some individual success.
Junior Johann Matzal finished fifth overall in the 800-meter run with a 1:53.71 time.
Sophomore Scilla Benussi finished seventh overall to snag two points for the Bulls in the women’s pentathlon. Senior Christina Wende launched herself 5.89 meters in the long jump to finish in sixth place.
Junior Zaria Fuller tied for fifth place in the high jump with a height of 1.66 meters. Senior Antoinette Miller ran a 7.67 in the women’s 60-meter dash to take home sixth place.
Graduate student Anya Schmitt came in 14th place in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 17:31.99.
Seniors Molly McCreedy and Rachel Donner finished fifth (15.14-meters) and eighth (14.48-meters), respectively, in shot put to grab five points for the Bulls.
The Bulls will begin their outdoor season on March 24 when they travel to Raleigh, NC for the Raleigh Relays.
Kayla Sterner is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at kayla.sterner@ubspectrum.com
Kayla Sterner is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. She is studying communications with the hopes of being a sideline reporter. In her spare time, she can be found in the gym, watching football or vibing to Mac Miller. Kayla is on Twitter @kaylasterner.
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
