Six Bulls Named to Academic All-MAC Indoor Track Team

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo placed a total of six student-athletes on the 2007 Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Academic All-Mid-American Conference teams, the league announced from its headquarters in Cleveland.

Andy Leonard (Spencerport, NY/Churchville-Chili), Jake Madonia (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Paul Riley (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) were named to the men's team while Sarah Vance (Lockport, NY/Lockport), Mary Veith (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) and Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) were selected for the women's squad.

Andy Leonard

Leonard, a senior mechanical engineering major with a 3.446 grade point average, earned his second Academic All-MAC nod of the year after being named to the league's cross country academic squad last fall. Leonard posted a top 3,000-meter time of 8:41.91 to finish 12th at the MAC Indoor Championships. He also turned in a top 5,000-meter time of 14:56.63 at Penn State's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on February 10. He is a member of UB’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jake Madonia

Madonia, a sophomore psychology major with a 3.474 GPA, was UB's top men's indoor shot putter and set a lifetime-best mark of 56-4.50 (17.18m) to finish third at the league championships. He also placed 19th among 31 throwers at the IC4A Championships in Boston earlier this month to close out the indoor season.

Paul Riley

Riley, a senior English major with a 3.228 GPA, was UB’s top men's middle-distance runner during the indoor campaign. He finished third in the 800-meters in a season-best time of 1:52.76 and qualified for the IC4A Championships in the event. Riley was also part of UB's 4x400-meter relay team at the MAC Championships that placed fourth. He also set UB's top 1,000-meter time of 2:37.04 on January 20 at the Cornell Upstate Challenge.

Sarah Vance

Vance, a senior early childhood education major with a 3.439 GPA, completed a stellar indoor season that culminated with MAC and ECAC titles in the women's shot put and a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships earlier this month. Vance was twice named MAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week this season and set the school record in the indoor shot put with a toss of 52-8.75 (16.07m) to win the competition at the Penn State National Meet on January 27. She also garnered All-MAC and All-East recognitions during the season. Prior to her participation at the NCAA's National Championships, she had won the women’s shot put in five of the seven meets that she entered and finished third in the other two against NCAA-caliber opposition.

Mary Veith

Veith, a sophomore chemistry major with a 3.834 GPA, was also named to the MAC's Academic Cross Country team in the fall semester. Veith posted UB's top women's times in three events this season, the 800-meters (2:17.07), the mile (4:56.98) and 3,000-meters (9:50.77) and earned qualifying times for the ECAC Championships in the mile and 3,000-meter races. She placed third among a field of 23 at the MAC Championships with her top mile mark and also earned a third-place finish in the event at the Penn State National Meet in January.

Tina Villa

Villa, a junior business administration major with a 3.838 GPA, paired with Vance to form UB's top women's weight throwing tandem. Villa set her top shot put mark of the season (48-6.75, 14.80m) to place eighth among 27 throwers at the Penn State Sykes-Sabock Challenge on February 10. She finished fourth in the women's shot put at the ECAC Championships in Boston at 48-2.50 (14.69m) to earn All-East honors and scored points at the MAC Championships with an eighth-place finish.

To be nominated, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award. Outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments from the current season only are considered. The Academic All-MAC team is voted on by the league's faculty athletic representatives. The total number of honorees is set for a specific sport or 33 percent of all nominees, whichever is greater. A total of 17 men and 22 women were named to the 2007 Indoor Track Academic All-MAC teams.