Faith Thompson

MANHATTAN, NY – The NCAA Track and Field East Regional meet concluded Saturday night at Icahn Stadium with three University at Buffalo women competing in field events.

Faith Thompson (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) finished ninth in Saturday’s shot put competition. Thompson was one of nine throwers to advance out of the three flights. Her best throw was 47-9.25 (14.55m). The toss was a quarter-inch behind the eighth-place finisher, Appalachian State’s Beverly Burnett. The top eight finishers score points for their schools. Miami (FL) senior Kimberli Barrett won the competition at 56-9.50 (17.31m). Thompson was attempting to earn a spot in next month’s NCAA Championships in two events. She finished third in Friday’s hammer throw guaranteeing her first trip to the national championships. The national meet is June 8-11 in Sacramento, CA.

Sarah Vance (Lockport, NY/Lockport) placed 15th in the shot put competition. Her best throw of the three attempts was 45-6.25 (13.87m). Vance also competed in the discus throw, but failed to register a distance, fouling on all three of her attempts.

Vanessa Roelofsen (Alma, Ontario/Norwell District SS) finished 14th in the javelin throw. The freshman’s best toss of the day was on her final attempt with a distance of 145-4 (44.29m). Virginia senior Inge Jorgensen won the competition at 167-11 (51.19m).

With Thompson’s third-place hammer finish the only points the Bulls scored, the UB women tied for 24th overall with six points. UB finished in a three-way tie with Connecticut and North Carolina-Wilmington as 45 schools scored points in the meet. South Carolina, the Southeastern Conference champion, breezed to the women's team title with 102.25 points with Miami (FL), ranked fourth in the country and Atlantic Coast Conference champions, placing second at 81 points. Florida State won the men's team title with 97 points.