Nine Named to Academic All-MAC Outdoor Track Team

BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo led the conference with a total of nine individuals named to the 2007 Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Academic All-Mid-American Conference teams, the league announced from its headquarters in Cleveland. The Bulls placed three men and six women on the squads. A total of 20 men and 30 women were selected in a vote conducted by the league's faculty athletic representatives.

Named to the men's squad were Andy Leonard (Spencerport, NY/Churchville-Chili), Jake Madonia (Rome, NY/Rome Free Academy) and Paul Riley (Buffalo, NY/Canisius). All three were also honored during the winter as Academic All-MAC Indoor Track and Field honorees. Jennie Donofrio (Pittsford, NY/Penfield), Caitlin Godin (Rochester, NY/Greece Arcadia), Carrie Hinners (Maple Grove, MN/Maple Grove), 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. Vance, Veith and Villa were also named to the indoor All-Academic team in March. Leonard and Veith were also selected to the league's cross country All-Academic squad last fall.

Andy Leonard

Leonard, a mechanical engineering and business administration graduate with a 3.451 undergraduate grade point average and currently pursuing a master's degree in mechanical engineering, finished fourth in the men's 10,000-meter run at the MAC Championships, turning in a time of 30:57.39, just 11 seconds off the winning time. Leonard also set UB’s top 5,000-meter time of 15:07.67 at the Wake Forest Open on March 24, finishing 13th in a field of 51. He is a member of UB’s chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jake Madonia

Madonia, a sophomore psychology major with a 3.431 GPA, is UB's top men's shot putter and earned his first trip to the NCAA East Regionals this weekend in Gainesville, FL after winning the shot put compettion at the UB Open on April 21 with a toss of 55-8 (16.97m). He finished sixth at the MAC Championshps. During the regular season, Madonia also won the discus at 147-8 (45.00m) and finished second in the shot put at 51-5 (15.67m) at the Miami Invitational on April 14. He is also second on the team in the discus with a best throw of 163-2 (49.74m) set at the Hillsdale Gina Relays on April 28.

Paul Riley

Riley, an English major graduate with a 3.292 GPA currently doing graduate coursework in English education, was UB’s top men's middle-distance runner, setting team-best marks in the 800-meters (1:53.08, 10th of 116) and 1,500-meters (4:01.24, 31st of 114) at the Wake Forest Open on March 24. Riley was also part of UB's 4x400-meter relay squad that finished fifth in a season-best 3:20.76 at the MAC Championships. Riley also was named as one of UB's Taurus Aureus recipients at its academic awards ceremony in April.

Jennie Donofrio

Donofrio, a senior physical therapy major with a 3.992 GPA, posted UB's top 5,000 and 10,000-meter times at the MAC Championships. Donofrio finished 13th in the women's 10,000-meters in 38:58.42 and took 14th in the 5,000-meter race in 18:15.18. She also posted a season-best 3,000-meter time of 10:35.79 at Akron's Campbell/Wright Open on May 5.

Caitlin Godin

Godin, a sophomore environmental design major with a 3.628 GPA, is UB's top women's high jumper and will compete for the second straight season at this weekend's East Regional meet. She posted her regional qualifying mark of 5-8.75 (1.75m) in the high jump competition at the Wake Forest Open, finishing third among 17 jumpers. Godin ranks 18th among high jumpers in the East Region and finished fourth at the MAC Championships in the high jump. Also named a recipient of the MAC Commissioner’s Award for academic achievement, she won the high jump at the UB Open on April 21 and finished second at the UNC Wilmington Invitational on March 17.

Carrie Hinners

Hinners, a junior environmental engineering major with a 3.628 GPA, posted a season-best mark of 11-9.75 (3.60m) at the Campbell/Wright Open on May 5, placing fourth. She won the pole vault competition at the UB Open on April 21 with a height of 11-5.75 (3.50m) and finished second at the UNC Wilmington Invitational on March 17. A Chi Alpha Sigma honor society member and MAC Commissioner’s Award recipient, she placed eighth at the MAC Championships.

Sarah Vance

Vance is a double major graduate in social sciences and psychology with a minor in teacher education and an undergraduate GPA of 3.439 GPA. Currently enrolled in graduate school pursuing a master's in early childhood education, she posted a 3.940 GPA in her first year of post-graduate work. She has qualified in three events, the shot put, hammer and discus for this weekend's NCAA East Regionals. She will compete in the shot put and hammer competitions. Vance is among the top 20 in the hammer throw with her best toss of 198-10 (60.37m) ranking 19th in the nation. She is also currently ranked 37th nationally and 11th in the East Region in the shot put (50-6.75, 15.41m) and 66th nationally and 16th in the East in the discus (161-0, 49.07m). Vance was a second-team All-Mid-American Conference selection at the conference championship meet earlier this month after finishing second in the hammer, third in the discus and fourth in the shot put. She represented UB at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the shot put last March.

Mary Veith

Veith, a sophomore chemistry major with a 3.679 GPA, led the UB women in the 1,500 and 3,000-meter races this spring and was second on the team in the 800-meters. Veith turned in her top 1,500-meter time of 4:32.16 at the Bucknell Bison Open on April 14 and set her best 3,000-meter mark of 9:49.24 at the Wake Forest Open on March 24, finishing first in a field of 44. She also twice won the 800-meters during the season at the UB Open and the UNC Wilmington Invitational. A MAC Commissioner’s Award recipient, Veith finished fifth in the women's 1,500-meters at the MAC Championships in 4:34.02.

Tina Villa

Villa, a junior busniess administration major with a 3.820 GPA with a concentration in accounting, also has qualified for the NCAA East Regionals in the women's shot put and ranks just behind Vance with her best throw of 49-7 (15.11m) earning her a third-place finish at the MAC Championships. Villa currently ranks 53rd in the country and 13th in the region in the event. A Chi Alpha Sigma honor society member and MAC Commissioner’s Award recipient, Villa is second on UB’s shot put (49-7, 15.11m), discus (155-1, 47.27m) and hammer (138-5, 42.19m) throws. She won the shot put at the Hillsdale Gina Relays and finished third at the MAC Championships with her season-best toss.

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.