For UB Track and Field, Day Two at the MAC Championships went a whole heck of a lot better than yesterday. Jon Jones did what we all expected, and not a whole lot of other events were finalized, but as track events got going with preliminary races before tomorrow's finals,
We'll start with the big news, in the Men's Shot Put.
Jon Jones won the Men's Shot Put. That was expected. He also broke the MAC record. That was maybe less expected, but not at all surprising.
To get an impression of just how dominant Jon is in this event, his opening throw was ultimately 1.59 meters short of his longest today, and was still more than half a meter better than everyone else.
Dominance #UBTF #MACTION pic.twitter.com/JdqTtPtbAR
— UB Track/XC (@UB_XCTF) May 15, 2015
Also, Devon Patterson and Ryan Cribben went 2-3 right (maybe not "right") behind Jones to pack the top of the podium with Bulls. All of this on Throws Coach Jim Garnham's 70th birthday. Best of all, each of Jones, Patterson, and Cribben hit their best marks in their respective sixth and final throws. Prior to that final round, Patterson had been in sixth and Cribben fourth.
If there's one, minute, grey cloud to the shot putters, it's that they didn't set any school records. Fortunately, in track event prelims, FOUR program marks went down, all in the fastest events.
On the men's side, Ryan Billian set one record and matched a number in racing to the top qualifying spot in both the 100m dash (10.35s) and 200m dash (21.09s). For the women, it was Tyra Forbes (11.83) and Camaria Long (23.58) setting new marks in the same events. Both of course qualified for the finals.
Six more women and seven more men have advanced to today's finals:
The 800 meter runs, as expected, were fruitful for UB; Tyler Schevin, Brian Crimmins, Meghan Manley, and Corinne Birchard all advanced to their respective finals. Each team was similarly productive in the 100 hurdles (Christine Lyttle, Kailyn Arcury) and the 110 high hurdles (Mike Morgan, Jake Wray).
Three more sprinters -- Regine Lazard and Mitchell Moore in the 400 hurdles and Josh Gali in the 400 -- and Melinda Wheeler in the 1500 rounded out the finalists.
Half the field events cut straight to the chase and crowned champions today, and outside of the shot put, UB didn't have the best day, but did earn points on both sides. Emma Siuciak closed out the final three events of the heptathlon to place third, matching Kelly Truppo's performance in the pole vault. None of Siuciak's events today were spectacular, but she was more consistent than all but champion Sarah Chauchard to move up from fourth and claim the bronze.
Otherwise, the men got a few points from Billian (7th) and Austin Ashby (8th) in the long jump. Ashby's best jump was his first, and he passed on his final three opportunities, so I wonder if he was injured. His season best would have put him in the running for second or third.
No other field competitors scored points for the Bulls, leaving the men with 32 points, tied for fourth but just one point behind Kent State in third, and the women in ninth with 11.5 points but poised to move up with eight finals entries on the track tomorrow.
In addition to all the finalists who advanced today, each team will also compete in two relays; the 4x100 and 4x400 sprint competitions. In the field, each team will compete in the discus, high jump, and triple jump, and the men's pole vault will also go down, though Shawn Barber is going to win. The men in particular are poised to move up in the field events, with likely multiple podium finishes in both the high jump and triple jump.
Go Bulls