UB Track and Field opens the season at the Gotham Cup

Track and Field joins Men's Tennis in getting their season started this weekend, competing at the one-day Gotham Cup at the famed Armory in upper Manhattan yesterday. No team scores were kept, many events had elite club and independent competitors, and several of UB's best sat out. That said, Buffalo placed a ton of folks in the top ten of their events to start the season strong:

Women

Sprints

We knew Camaria Long, the lone returner from a school-record-setting 4x400 relay last year, was going to be important, and she started strong with 5th and 7th-place finishes in the 60m and 200m dashes, respectively. It doesn't seem like UB has much depth in sprints, so getting as many high finishes as possible from Long will be key.

UB also had a finalist in the 60m hurdles, where Kailyn Arcury took 4th.

Distance

Bulls placed in all of the three longest events: Melinda Wheeler took 6th and Amy Shaw 9th in the 3000m, Corinne Birchard 4th in the mile, and Meaghan Wessel in the 5000m. All are (of course) holdovers from cross country season, and all are sophomores or juniors.

Relays

Despite turning over three-quarters of the 4x400 relay, the Bulls placed 5th there, but the highlight on the track for the UB ladies was the Distance Medley Relay, where Shaw's late push just missed out on first place. UB's 12:12.67 for the 2.5-mile relay was only .17 seconds off from UConn's winning time.

Throws

Of course, the thrower's circle is where Buffalo finds its bread-and-butter. Yesterday was no different as McKenzie Kuehlewind (4th, 13.41m, and Joanna Hallisy (8th, 12.88m) both placed top-8 in the shot put, and Kuehlewind and Miranda Daucher matched the feat with 7th and 9th-place finishes in the weight throw.

We also had a #foreverabull sighting, as UB record holder Becky O'Brien competed as an unaffiliated athlete in the shot put and won easily with a 58'00.00" throw.

Jumps

A pair of Bulls also finished top-ten in the pole vault: Kelly Trupo (3rd, 3.75m) and Taylor Bates (9th, 3.60m). Truppo, remember, is a big contender for UB in the indoor pentathlon and heptathlon

Men

Similar story for the men: the field events are where it's at. That said, UB does have a little more sprinting depth over here.

Sprints

In the shortest races, Mike Morgan took 4th in the 60m hurdles and Darien Johnson 2nd in the 60m dash. Josh Gali (10th) and Tyler Scheving (9th) also earned top-ten finishes in the 400m and 500m dashes, respectively.

Distance

Not quite as many distance top-tens as the women, but two highlights in the mile. Cam Bruce finished 7th in 4:16.90, and Zach Ahart returned to competition for his last semester at UB to finish 10th in 4:17.43.

Relays

Like the women, both the 4x400 (7th) and Distance Medley (6th) relays placed for UB.

Throws

Jon Jones didn't even compete and we had three in the top ten. UB throws is so much fun, because they're awesome. Devon Patterson placed 4th in his first-ever competition for UB, and Sean Harvey (5th) and Ryan Cribbin (9th) gave the top ten a big Buffalo presence. Cribbin also took 6th in the weight throw.

Jumps

Remember that Mike Morgan finished 4th in the 60m hurdles? Here's why he was also an All-American in the pentathlon last year: he took 4th in the pole vault, joined in the top ten by Adam Hume at 9th.

I left Chris Reape at high jump out of my season preview, and I shouldn't have, because he took second with a jump of 2.04m (6'8"). Laurent Dure also took 9th for the Bulls. Ryan Billian did not compete in the long jump, but Don McCann did take 7th.

Track and Field are back in action a week from today at the Cornell Upstate Challenge. Should be fun. Go Bulls.