Bulls Prepare For Track Regionals

BUFFALO, NY – A total of five University at Buffalo track and field athletes will compete this weekend at the NCAA East Regional Championships in Tallahassee, FL in hopes of securing a spot in the NCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Competing for the UB women will be long jumper Fatimah Hill (Waterport, NY/Lyndonville), pole vaulter Tiffany Maskulinski (Elma, NY/Iroquois) and javelin throwers Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) and Katie Weston (North Bay, Ontario/Widdifield SS). Shot putter Alex Stamatakis (Hania, Crete, Greece/First Technical & Vocational School of Crete) will represent the Bulls in the men's regionals.

Fatimah Hill

Hill, a junior, earned her first outdoor regional bid with her record setting long jump at the Raleigh Relays on March 29. Hill cleared 19-8.25 (6.00m), bettering her own record by two inches, meeting the minimum qualifying distance. She currently ranks 28th in the East Region and 108th nationally, according to Trackshark.com. The women's long jump is slated to start at 4:00 pm on Friday.

Tiffany Maskulinski

Maskulinski, a sophomore, earned her first outdoor regional bid on April 19 as she won the pole vault competition at the UB Invitational with a height of 12-8.75 (3.88m). Maskulinski ranks ninth among vaulters in the East Region and 64th nationally. The women's pole vault begins at 2:00 pm on Friday.

Vanessa Roelofsen

Roelofsen, a senior, met the regional qualifying distance in the javelin in the season-opening meet at North Carolina-Wilmington in March and has improved on the distance throughout the season. The two-time Mid-American Conference champion in the event, she posted a season-best throw of 163-8 (49.88m) to win the javelin event at the Akron Campbell/Wright Open on May 10. She ranks fourth in the East Region and 16th nationally. She will be making her fourth consecutive appearance at the regional meet after earning All-East honors in 2006 and 2007. She finished second at the 2006 regionals and holds the UB javelin record at 169-8 (51.71m).

Katie Weston

Weston, a freshman, gives the Bulls a second javelin thrower in the regionals. She set her best mark of 154-1 (46.97m) at the UB Invitational on April 19. She ranks 11th in the region and 43rd nationally in the event. The women's javelin begins at 4:30 pm on Friday.

Alex Stamatakis

Stamatakis, a junior, earned his first regional appearance after his shot put performance at the MAC Championships on May 16. Stamatakis made the regional field with a throw of 55-2 (16.81m), one centimeter above the cutoff mark. He ranks 23rd in the East Region and 102nd nationally in the event. The men's shot put is scheduled for 3:00 pm on Friday.

The East Regional Championships at Florida State University's Mike Long Track is one of four regional meets that will determine competitors for the NCAA National Championships in Des Moines, IA starting June 11. Fayetteville, AR (Mideast), Lincoln, NE (Midwest) and Northridge, CA (West) are serving as the other sites for the weekend competition. The East Region is the largest of four regions with 110 men's and 112 women's Division I programs stretching from Maine to Florida. The top five finishers in each event earn spots in the NCAA National Championship field.

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