BUFFALO, NY - Six University at Buffalo track and field athletes will participate in the NCAA East Regionals on Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29 in Gainesville, FL, with the chance to move on to the NCAA Championships next month at stake. UB's six Regional qualifiers are: seniors Laura Olson (Lyons, NY/Lyons) and Allison Laske (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua), junior Jenny Koeppel (Amherst, NY/Amherst), sophomore Sarah Vance (Lockport, NY/Lockport) and freshmen Brian Heim (East Amherst, NY/Williamsville East) and Rayshon Higgins (Buffalo, NY/Timon/St. Jude). Each of UB's qualifiers are listed below along with their event, qualifying mark and where that mark currently ranks on the East Region performance list.

Laura Olson: pole vault, 13-5.50/4.10m (3rd)
Allison Laske: 800 meters, 2:04.81 (3rd)
Jenny Koeppel: 5,000 meters, 16:52.83 (49th)
Sarah Vance: shot put, 48-5.50/14.77m (20th)
Sarah Vance: hammer throw, 173-7/52.90m (34th)
Brian Heim: 400 meter hurdles, 51.95 (18th)
Rayshon Higgins: triple jump, 50-0/15.24m (21st)

Laske also qualified for the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:24.67 (17th in the East), but she will only run in the 800 meters at the Regional meet. In addition to these six athletes, senior Steve Esler (Rochester, NY/Aquinas Institute) is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the decathlon. His point total of 7,306, set at the Hillsdale Gina Relays in late April, is currently the third highest total in the East Region and 25th in the nation. The decathlon is not contested at the Regional meet.

The top five finishers in each event at this weekend's four regional meets (East, Mid-East, West, Mid-West), as well as a to-be-determined number of "at-large" selections based on the NCAA descending order list following the regional meets, will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, TX from Wednesday, June 9 through Saturday, June 12.