Maskulinski Headed to NCAA Championshps

Tiffany Maskulinski

GREENSBORO, NC – University at Buffalo pole vaulter Tiffany Maskulinski earned her first trip to the NCAA Track and Field Championships with a third-place finish at the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Championships at the Irwin Belk Track at North Carolina A&T State University.

Maskulinski cleared a season-best height of 13-1.75 (4.01m) to become one of five individuals to automatically advance to the NCAA National Championships in Fayetteville, AR in mid-June. Maskulinski is the second UB women’s pole vaulter to make the national finals. Laura Olson reached the 2004 indoor and 2005 outdoor championships in her UB career. With the finish, Maskulinski earned All-East honors for the second time in her career after tying for seventh at last year’s meet. The top eight finishers in each event are named all-region.

Casey Garbaty

The UB men had a couple of strong finishes on the day, falling just short of all-region honors. In the men’s javelin freshman Casey Garbaty finished ninth with a throw of 203-8 (62.08m). Garbaty just missed earning all-region status by a half-meter (2.4 inches).

UB’s men’s 4x100-meter relay team also fell short of all-region status by the slimmest of margins with a tenth-place finish. The foursome of Dan Schichtel, Ezekiel Porter, Dan Harris and Brian Smith crossed the finish line in 40.67 seconds. The top eight finishing teams all turned in sub-40 second times. Individually, Smith finished 25th in the men’s 200-meters in 21.61.

Jake Madonia finished 26th in the men’s shot put. Madonia, competing in his second East Regional meet of his career, turned in a throw of 52-10.75 (16.12m).

For the UB women, Fatimah Hill finished 20th at 18-10.75 (5.76m) in the long jump. Lataya Dixon placed 32nd in the 100-meter hurdles in 15.02.

Competing for the Bulls on Saturday are Tina Villa and Kristy Woods in the women’s shot put, Matt Gac in the men’s hammer throw and Hill in the women’s triple jump.

The East Regional is one of four NCAA regional competitions being held this weekend. Louisville, KY (Mideast), Norman, OK (Midwest) and Eugene, OR (West) are serving as the other sites. The top five finishers in each event automatically advance to the NCAA National Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, AR.