Outdoor Track & Field Weekly Release

Bulls Run With the Best at Wake Forest Open

The University at Buffalo men’s and women’s track and field teams completed action at the Wake Forest Open with a pair of victories, five regional qualifiers and a new school record in the men’s hurdles. There was no team scoring in the meet in a competition field comprised of over 50 colleges in addition to several former Olympians and world champions.

Veith, Tarshus Earn Victories

Mary Veith

UB scored victories in two events. In the women’s 3,000-meter run, sophomore Mary Veith (Derby, NY/Lake Shore) topped the field with a clocking of 9:49.24, just four seconds off the UB record. Veith won the race by a second and a half over Wake Forest’s Nicole Schappert. The men’s team picked up a victory in the B section finals of the high jump. Freshman Greg Tarshus (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) took the event with a leap of 6-6.75 (2.00m), bettering his top mark from the season-opening meet at North Carolina-Wilmington and giving the Bulls their best mark of the season. Freshman Russell Cameron (Ballston Lake, NY/Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake) was sixth in the event at 6-2.75 (1.90m).

Rucker Breaks Hurdles Mark

Reggie Rucker

Senior Reggie Rucker (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) earned a spot in the finals of the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Rucker won his heat of the finals in 14.25 seconds, finishing in a tie for fourth overall and breaking Todd Joki’s (Saratoga Springs, NY/Schuylerville) record of 14.31 seconds. The time was also good enough for Rucker to earn a spot in the NCAA East Regionals in May. Rucker reached the final after posting a 14.98 clocking in the preliminaries. Joki also competed in the finals, finishing 10th in 14.84 seconds.

Roelofsen Earns Regional Qualifying Distance

Junior Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) picked up a second-place finish in the women’s javelin with a throw of 149-4 (45.52m), earning an NCAA East Regional qualifying mark for the third time in her career. Duke’s Dainia Pucurs won the event with a toss of 168-11 (51.50m).

Jumpers Post Strong Results

UB’s women high jumpers had a pair of third-place finishes in the two sections of their events. Sophomore Caitlin Godin (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia) earned an NCAA regional mark in the A section with a jump of 5-8.75 (1.75m). Meanwhile, senior Patrice Coney (Lyons, NY/Lyons) finished third in the B section at 5-5 (1.65m). Senior Roy Richards (Rochester, NY/Edison Tech) also had a fourth-place finish in the men’s long jump with a regional qualifying mark of 24-1 (7.34m).

Weight Throwers Place Near Top

In the men’s discus, sophomore Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical & Vocational School of Crete) had a fifth-place finish with a throw of 167-7 (51.07m), bettering his mark by more than 12 feet. In the women’s event, senior Sarah Vance (Lockport, NY/Lockport) was sixth at 150-3 (45.80m) while junior Tina Villa (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs) was seventh at 146-10 (44.76m). Vance improved on her regional qualifying mark in the shot put with a throw of 48-6 (14.78m) to finish fifth and placed sixth in the women’s hammer at 176-2 (53.69m). Villa was 10th at 46-8 (14.22m) in the women’s shot put.