Track and Field sets four schools records, Jones returns to the ring, at SPIRE

For a month now, every time UB's Track and Field teams have competed, someone's set a school record. It's been a heck of a start to the season for the Bulls.

This weekend, at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH, UB saw one of their All-Americans return for his first competition for 2015 and managed to continue the school-record streak, setting new marks in no fewer than four events.

In particular the Bulls saw excellent performances in the mid-distance events, where Melinda Wheeler (2:51.61) and Tyler Scheving (2:23.73) both topped old marks in the 1,000-meter run. Wheeler in the span of three weeks has topped both of Jen Jezorski's indoor records in the 1,000 and the mile. Scheving, on the other hand, broke the mark previously set by teammate Brian Crimmins in 2013, so we may see that fall. Crimmins himself was only .05 off of the old record in the event.

Both of the 1,000 records came down on Friday, but Scheving added to his weekend haul by today breaking his year-old mark in the 800-meter run by nearly a full second, finishing in 1:49.25. The field events also got in on the action as Emma Siuciak broke the old high jump record by a single centimeter, jumping 1.78 meters to top Shelly Hamilton's mark, which was set 17 years ago in 1998.

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A number of Bulls finished top-five in their events at the meet, which attracted competitors from a number of regional power-five schools, familiar MAC faces, and a handful of Canadian universities:

Scheving and Crimmins, 1000m, 2nd and 4th, respectively
Camaria Long, 200m, 3rd
Kelly Truppo, Pole Vault, 2nd-highest vault, but finished T-6th on tiebreakers
Chris Reape, High Jump, 2nd
Austin Ashby, Long Jump, 6th (5th-place finisher was unattached)
Siuciak, High Jump, 3rd
Jon Jones, Shot Put, 1st
Crimmins, Mile, 3rd
Scheving, 800m, 3rd
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The win for Jones came in his first competition of 2015, and in victory he topped the field by nearly two feet. His throw of 63' 3" was just 2 1/2 inches shy of his indoor school record set last year. That's pretty wonderful.

Additionally, Long and Zach Ahart hit auto qualifiers for the MAC Championships in the 200-meter dash and 5k, respectively, on Friday. Today, four more joined them: Jones in the shot put, Siuciak in the high jump, Christine Lyttle in the 60-meter hurdles, and Meghan Manley in the 800.

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Only one competition remains before the conference championships. UB will return to Ithaca next Saturday for the one-day Marc Denault Invitational at Cornell.

Go Bulls!

camaria long 200 dash (24.42), zach ahart (5k, 14:42.89) MAC auto qualifiers