Tim Boeni and Bryce Buffaloe met NCAA Provisional qualifying standards at the New Balance Invitational, while five women’s athletes qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
The men’s and women’s track and field teams managed to make it out of the snow to compete at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, Widener Invitational and Haverford College Invitational last weekend.
“We had a pretty good showing this weekend,” coach Eric Mobley said. “We were running against top-ranked schools, and the players believe they can compete against anybody on any day.”
Seniors Tim Boeni and Bryce Buffaloe each met NCAA Provisional qualifying standards at the New Balance Invitational, which was held last Friday and Saturday in New York. Boeni jumped 7.56 meters, improving his IC4A distance and placing seventh overall in the long jump. Buffaloe finished in fifth place in the weight throw with a toss of 19.58 meters, improving his school record.
“Tim brings a lot of energy to the team, and we feed off each other,” senior hurdler and jumper Josue Louis said.
Boeni watched past performances during the last week to help in New York.
“There is always room for improvement,” Boeni said. “I watched some videos and knew that I could do better than I had.”
Junior Miles Dryden finished third with a time of 7.05 seconds in the 60-meter dash, while freshman Tim Malloy placed ninth with a time of 8.42 seconds. Sophomore Aaron Taylor placed eighth in the 800-meter with a time of 1:54.85, and fellow sophomore Emmanual Freeland ran the 200-meter in 22.45, good enough for 10th place. Taylor, along with sophomore Tariq Lee, junior Derrhyl Duncan and senior Brad McFadden, also placed third in the 4×400-meter Pennsylvania race with a time of 3:21.28.
As for the women, freshmen Sheina Roberts and Victoria Gocht each met Eastern College Athletic Conference qualifying marks in the 400-meter and 500-meter, respectively. Roberts ran a time of 57.01 and finished 12th, while Gocht placed sixth with a time of 1:14.33. Junior Paris Williams competed in the 500-meter as well and finished in second place with an impressive time of 1:13.34.
Senior Brittany McRae placed 11th in the long jump with a distance of 5.62 meters. She also finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.85, edging out teammate junior Brittany Clybourn, who finished fifth, by a tenth of a second.
In the women’s 4×400-meter Pennsylvania race, freshman Tessa West joined Roberts, Gocht and Williams, and together they finished second overall with a time of 3:45.54, which also met ECAC marks.
“The freshman class is doing very well,” Williams said. “They have stepped up all season, and it shows. We are moving in the right direction.”
At Widener, Buffaloe threw a personal best 51-00.75 in the shot put and also placed first in the weight throw with a toss of 18.50 meters. On the women’s side, senior Melissa Gale cleared a height of 12-00 to improve her school record and ECAC qualifying mark.
Temple also got a boost at Widener from sophomore Alanna Owens, who placed first in the weight throw with an ECAC qualifying mark of 45-10.50.
At the Haverford Invitational, which was postponed one day because of the snow, the Owls scored seven first-place finishes for the men’s team. Taylor finished first in the triple jump, clearing 11.29 meters, and ran a personal best 8.35 in the 55-meter hurdles, which was good for second place.
Freeland had two first-place finishes in the 55-meter dash and 200-meter, with times of 6.49 and 22.63. Malloy won the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 7.76, and Louis finished first in the high jump with a jump of 2.03 meters.
“We’re at a point where we know we’re better than we’ve been in a while, and it’s exciting,” Louis said.
Junior Rebecca Mims led the Owls in the 800-meter, placing first. McRae also had a first-place finish in the 200-meter, clocking in at a time of 25.93, while senior Shaniece Stonewall placed first in the long jump, clearing a distance of 5.26 meters.
The Owls are off until Feb. 19, when they travel to the University of Rhode Island for the Atlantic Ten Indoor Championships.
“We let the performances come to us,” Mobley said. “Our goal for the A-10s is to win a championship on both sides.”
“We’ve got a good chance of winning,” junior long sprinter Tashima Stephens said. “We should come in the top two or three.”
Justin Boylan can be reached at justin.boylan@temple.edu.
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