Outdoor Track and Field Weekly Release

Outdoor Season Opens With Eight First-Places at UNCW

The UB track and field teams opened the outdoor schedule at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational. The UB men (172) finished second behind the host Seahawks (272). The UB women (132) finished a half-point behind Colonial Athletic Association indoor champion Northeastern (132.5) in third place, while UNCW took the top spot (273.5) as eleven teams made up both the men's and women's fields. In all, the Bulls picked up eight first-place finishes.

Giza Wins Two Events to Lead Bulls on Track

Dan Giza

Among the eight first-place finishes by the Bulls, senior Dan Giza (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) scored two wins on the track. Giza won the 1,500-meters in 3:59.27 and followed with a win in the 5,000-meters in 14:57.88. It was Giza’s first outdoor appearance after sitting out the 2007 campaign. Leading the women’s tracksters was senior Mary Veith (Derby, NY/Lake Shore). Veith took the women's 5,000-meter run with a clocking of 18:05.23.

Women’s Javelin Throwers Take Top Two Spots

Vanessa Roelofsen

The Bulls scored the top two placed in the women’s javelin as senior Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) took the event with a toss of 46.72 meters to qualify for the NCAA East Regional Championships at the end of May in Tallahassee, FL. Freshman Katie Weston (North Bay, Ontario/Widdifield SS) finished second in the event at 42.50 meters. Roelofsen, the 2007 Mid-American Conference champion in the javelin, won the Seahawk Invite’s javelin throw for the second time in her four-year career. She won the event as a freshman in 2005 and was second to UNCW’s Anna Raynor in 2006 and 2007.

Bulls Dominate Field Events

Fatimah Hill

Other women's winners in the field events included Tiffany Maskulinski (Elma, NY/Iroquois) and Fatimah Hill (Waterport, NY/Lyndonville). Maskulinski took the pole vault with a final height of 3.70 meters. Hill turned in a personal-best with her victory in the high jump at 1.70 meters. UB teammate Caitlin Godin (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) finished second to Hill in the high jump, also clearing 1.70 meters.

For the UB men, Loic Sebuharara (Vestal, NY/Vestal) won the triple jump at 13.97 meters. George Fetchko (Warren, OH/Howland) led a strong contingent of men's weight throwers with a first-place finish in the shot put (16.17m) and a second-place showing in the hammer throw (47.80m). Second-place finishes were also turned in by men's weight throwers Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical and Vocational School of Crete) in the shot put (16.00m) and Matt Gac (Newark Valley, NY/Newark Valley) in the discus (46.53m).

The Teacher Takes On The Students

Steve Esler

Competing as an unattached athlete, UB assistant coach Steve Esler finished second in the men’s high jump event. Esler, a two-time MAC multi-event champion, cleared 2.03 meters to finish behind Northeastern’s Adrian Li, who also cleared 2.03 meters. UB’s Peter Bligh (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) and Loic Sebuharara (Vestal, NY/Vestal) finished fourth and sixth, respectively.