Bulls Pick Up Where They Left of at Akron, Breaking Records & Winning Events

Friday, January 17

Akron, OH

4 pm

Al Campbell Invite

Bulls Pick Up Where They Left of at Akron, Breaking Records & Winning Events

1/18/2025 9:07:00 AM | Track and Field

AKRON, Ohio – The University at Buffalo track and field program competed at the Al Campbell Invitational on Friday night, returning to Akron over a month after their season-opening meet in December. Despite the break the Bulls did not skip a beat, winning nine events and having three performances join the all-time indoor record book.

Tal Hamel moved up the all-time indoor program ranks in two events in his senior season debut. Hamel began his night by taking first place in the preliminary round of the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.80 seconds. The senior's time was a new personal record that ranks fifth all-time in UB indoor history.

Hamel doubled back to win the men's 200-meter dash and take second all-time in UB indoor history with a new personal record time of 21.37. The senior only trails Josh Gali's school record of 21.25 set in 2017. Brandon Robinson (8th, 22.51), Jean Desir (9th, 22,57) and Sam Mellinger (10th, 22,73) all finished inside the top 10 in the event too for the Bulls.

In the finals round of the men's 60-meter dash, the Bulls had four of the top eight finishers. Hamel (3rd, 6.84), Desir (5th, 6.91), Jermaine Ewers (7th, 6.95) and Jack Faldetta (8th, 7.11) all competed in the finals.

Freshman Ryan Cardichon won the men's high jump with a personal record mark of 2.07 meters. Cardichon's new personal best tied Tomarris Bell's personal record mark set in 2013 for the sixth-ranked performance in UB indoor history. The freshman's event win was the first of his collegiate career. Senior Calvin Finger took third with a mark of 1.87 meters.

Freshman Micah Blair took two events at Akron, winning four events for the Bulls through his first two meets. Blair began the night by winning the men's long jump with a mark of 6.93 meters. The freshman also won the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.00 meters. In the season-opening meet at Akron a month ago, Blair also won the men's long jump (6.98m) and the triple jump (14.01m).

In the men's mile, the Bulls had the top two finishers. Collin Stafford won the event with a time of 4:19.07, as Kevin Sherry earned a close second-place finish and a time of 4:20.92. The two Buffalo freshmen took the top two spots in the field of 21 runners.

Michael Parks won the men's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.05 seconds. Parks' preliminary round time of 8.04 seconds was just one-hundredth of a second shy of his personal record that ranks fourth all-time in UB indoor history (8.03). Kevin Gabalski earned second place in the event finals with a new personal record time of 8.10 seconds. Gabalski's new personal best beats his previous record set in the season-opening meet at Akron, still falling in at eighth all-time in the UB indoor ranks.

Allison Newton won the women's mile with a new personal record time of 5:05.08. The junior's time beat her previous personal record by six seconds (5:11.75). Lacey Danilovitz also posted a personal best performance in the event (5:14.00), beating her previous personal record by nine seconds (5:23.55). Bronagh Cassidy (7th, 5:12.57), Sophie Brettholtz (11th, 5:22.04) and Eliza Medearis (12th, 5:22.38) competed for the Bulls too, putting five Buffalo runners inside the top 12 athletes to place.

Akuot Kuany (1st) and Zahra Amos (2nd) took the top two spots in the women's high jump with a mark of 1.70 meters. Stella Kapp (5th, 1.65m) and Adriana Ellsworth (6th, 1.60m) both earned top ten finishes for the Bulls too. Kuany has now won both high jump competitions she's competed in this season.

Uma Bhattacharjee won the women's long jump with a mark of 5.50 meters in her collegiate debut in the event. Isa Van Puffelen placed eighth in the event with a mark of 5.21 meters.

Rylee VanAlstine (4th, 49.74), Fernando Sanchez (5th, 49.94) and Jason Colindres (6th, 51.24) took three of the top six spots in the men's 400-meter dash. VanAlstine was just under a second shy of joining the UB indoor record books as a freshman (48.89).

Freshman Aidan Norris finished third in the men's 800-meter with a time of 1:54.28. Norris' time was less than two seconds shy of reaching the all-time top ten in the event for UB indoor history (1:52.76).

Freshman Sophia Sampson placed ninth of 40 runners in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 25.50. Sampson's time fell just outside of the program's all-time top ten (25.12). Sampson also finished sixth in the 60-meter dash finals with a time of 7.93, finishing two-tenths of a second shy of the program's all-time top ten (7.73).

Johanna Kleiner placed fourth in the women's 800-meter with a time of 2:16.19. Kleiner missed her personal record by just under two seconds (2:14.26) and the UB all-time indoor top ten by just under four seconds (2:12.84). Juliette Salazar took eighth in the event with a time of 2:20.80.

Kenneth Gulloso set a new personal record in the men's weight throw with a mark of 16.65 meters to finish sixth. On the women's side, sophomore Loretta White finished seventh in the weight throw with a new personal best mark of 16.13 meters. Bernice Balk took 14th in the field of 35 throwers with a mark of 13.29 meters. Balk also finished seventh in the women's shot put with a throw of 12.58m. On the men's side of the shot put, Quintus Simmons recorded a new personal record mark of 14.21 meters to place ninth.

Amari Hall placed third in the women's triple jump with a mark of 10.88 meters.

Luke Stoeffler (3rd, 8:31.23) and Jacob Brink (4th, 8:45.00) both earned top five finishes in the men's 3000-meter run.

Brian Murphy (3rd, 4.43m) and Gabalski (4th, 4.13m) made their season debuts in the men's pole vault. Gabalski's mark was a new indoor personal record.

Brianna Urban finished 14th in the women's 3,000 meter with a time of 11:05.22. Urban was less than a second shy of breaking her personal best in the event (11:04.57).

"This was a nice return after the six-week break between competitions," said Program Director and Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "Our line-up of competitions over the next several weeks will allow our team to continue to progress and achieve new personal best marks in preparation for the conference championships in six weeks."

All results from the Al Campbell Invite can be accessed here.

The Bulls are next in action at the SPIRE Midwest Invitational on January 25th. A complete schedule for UB Track & Field can be found here.

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