Post Classifieds
Bengals send three to Championships
By Aaron Garland
On March 8, 2012
The Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday served as a "last chance"
meet for the Buffalo State men's and women's track and field teams before the NCAA Championships
next weekend.
It was the last chance for individuals to qualify for nationals, and for younger athletes to
compete on a big stage. A year after capturing their first-ever ECAC title, the men's team did not score a
point in any event. The women's team placed 18th out of 57 teams, had an individual winner and broke
a school record.
Having a top team finish at the event was not the top priority for the Bengals, as assistant coach
Dustin Dimit made the team's goals for the ECACs very clear.
"We used it (ECACs) as a tune-up this year," he said. "Depending on the year and how healthy
people are (determines) how we approach ECACs. There are some years we don't even go to the ECAC
meet, we go to a different meet as like a ‘last chance' meet."
Some of the Bengals' top athletes sat out over the weekend, as it has been for much of the
indoor season.
"We just try to keep everybody healthy, and make sure the people that qualified for nationals
are ready to compete for a national championship next week," Dimit said.
Junior Sasha Henry had the only first-place finish for the Bengals, winning the 60-meter dash
(7.69).
Henry will be competing alongside senior Erica Johnson at the NCAA Championships next
weekend in the 60 and sophomore Jazmin Dunham will also compete in the 60-meter hurdles.
Johnson is the No. 1 seed in the event, finishing with the fastest time in the nation this season
(7.55). She is the defending national champion in the 55-meter dash (which was changed this year to
the 60-meter dash), and was the runner-up in 2010.
Henry, the No. 3 seed, said she has one thing on her mind going into the weekend's event.
"National champion," said Henry, who was recently named State University of New York Athletic
Conference Women's Outstanding Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. "All I need to do is work on my start
and get (off) the block, and then just hold my speed."
Freshman Shatima Brown placed second in the triple jump (11.98m), en route to a new school
record in the event.
Dunham finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.10) in her final tune-up before nationals, and
freshman Mariah Brown was seventh in the 400-meter dash (58.71).
It was a mediocre day for the men's team in terms of top finishes.
Sophomore Jalen Law had the best finish for the Bengals, crossing ninth in the 60-meter dash
(6.97).
The Bengals also had a trio of 13th-place finishes: Freshman Rich Pete in the long jump (6.70m),
senior Kyle Abron in the triple jump (13.68) and freshman middle-distance runner Alex Ngabo in the 800-
meter run (1:55.83).
Law said he was happy to compete in an event as large as the ECACs and test himself against
some of the top athletes in the region.
"I enjoyed it," he said. "It was very humbling and a great experience for me to push my own
body to the limit, see how far I could go, see how fast I could run."
Johnson, Henry and Dunham are set to compete at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field
Championships this weekend at Grinnell College in Iowa. Preliminaries will be held on Friday and the
finals will take place on Saturday.
Aaron Garland can be reached by email at garland.record@live.com.
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