BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo State track and field program returns to action this weekend, kicking off the outdoor season with the SUNY Geneseo Invitational. The event begins on Saturday, April 2, with the hammer throw to be contested on Sunday, April 3. LIVE VIDEO will be available for the meet, which will also feature RIT, Alfred State, Fredonia, the University at Buffalo, Rochester, Ithaca, Daemen, St. Bonaventure, Nazareth, Alfred University, and many others.

The Bengals return to action after fighting hard in the SUNYAC Indoor Track and Field Championships from Feb. 25-26 in Brockport. The men finished sixth in the championship meet, while the women finished seventh.
 
Individually, Collin Snyder (Buffalo, N.Y./JFK) led the men with a third-place finish in the long jump, leaping 1.90 meters. Rookie Mike Simpson (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Athena) finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdle final, finishing in 8.74 seconds. Other notable finishes for the men included Nas Muslim Dost (Buffalo, N.Y./Maryvale) as he took fifth in the long jump final, as well as the men's 4x400 relay team of David Ibalio (Sloatsburg, N.Y./Nyack), Benaleo Daniels (Buffalo, N.Y./Binghamton), Dylan Devine (Brockport, N.Y./Brockport), and Chris Goodlander (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara-Wheatfield) as they also finished in fifth-place with a time of 3:37.24.
 
For the women, Makhia Laster (Buffalo, N.Y./Tapestry Charter) led the way with a bronze medal performance in the 60-meter sprint finals, earning a career-best time of 8.02 seconds. Clara Sensini (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) finished fourth overall in the 400-meter final, but set a personal best time of 59.44 while winning her heat on the first day. Other notable finishes for the women included the 4x400 relay quartet, as Destiny Rivera (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Liberal Arts), Tori Florczak (Depew, N.Y./St. Mary's of Lancaster), Bryanna Roos (Walworth, N.Y./Ruben A. Cirrilo), and Brooklyn Lawrence (Buffalo, N.Y./Cheektowaga Central) earned a seventh-place finish in the final with a time of 4:34.64. In the field events, Rivera finished ninth in the high jump with a leap of 1.42 meters, while Tima Abdellatif (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) finished 18th in the weight throw with a toss clearing 11.40 meters.
 
One of the other major differences is the emergence of the newest coach at Buffalo State, head coach Chris Bostwick, a decorated Team USA, Clemson, Michigan State, and Binghamton assistant who has recently started to work with the Bengal student-athletes. He will be assisted by Buffalo State stalwarts Kathryn Baglio and Jordan Fuentes, as the trio will look to establish a new era for the track and field and cross-country programs.