UB Track Teams Earn Regional Rankings
4/7/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
BUFFALO, NY – The University at Buffalo men's and women's track and field teams appear in the first Northeast regional rankings released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association earlier this week. In the region's Top 7 index, the UB women stand fourth while the UB men are fifth.
The UB women compiled a total of 399.21 points in this week's index, trailing Cornell (787.81), Connecticut (610.91) and Syracuse (462.07). The UB men totaled 484.28 points for the fifth spot. Cornell (825.55) tops the men's index, followed by Connecticut (596.13), Army (532.27), Syracuse (520.14) and the Bulls.
"It is very early in the season, but the promising performances thus far continue to bring UB into the rankings." said women's head coach Vicki Mitchell. "Hopefully we will continue to add more and more to our list of ranked athletes contributing to our team's ranking."
Additionally, seven Bulls, all in field events, appear on national descending order lists for their individual events.
Sophomore Kristy Woods stands 17th in the women's shot put with her school record throw of 52-11.50 (16.14m) following last week's performance at the Florida Relays. Woods is also 42nd in the women's hammer throw at 186-3 (56.77m) also posted in Gainesville.
Sophomore Becky O'Brien is also on two lists. O'Brien is 25th in the shot put at 51-9.75 (15.79m) while also standing 29th in the women's discus at 166-3 (50.67m), her school record throw set at the Raleigh Relays on March 27.
Senior Tiffany Maskulinski is tied for 40th among women's pole vaulters. Her height of 13-1.75 (4.01m) was set at last season's NCAA East Regional Championships where she qualified for the NCAA National Championships. Previous season performances are taken into account until the end of April, after which, only 2010 meets will be used for descending order lists.
Among the UB men, sophomore Casey Garbaty stands 30th in the men's javelin following his record breaking throw of 224-6 (68.43m) in Raleigh.
In the shot put, sophomore Rob Golabek is 32nd at 58-8.50 (17.89m) while senior Jake Madonia is 49th at 57-3.50 (17.46m). Golabek broke the UB school record with his toss at the Seahawk Invitational in March while Madonia's mark was set at the Florida Relays this past weekend.
Junior Matt Gac is 45th in the men's hammer throw. Gac turned in a school record toss of 197-0 (60.06m) at the Seahawk Invitational.
National team rankings are complied by mathematical formulas based on national descending order lists and data taken from previous seasons. For the preseason and early-season rankings, data is taken from previous seasons as well as the current season. National and regional team and individual athlete performance lists are released each Tuesday by the USTFCCCA.
The Bulls will compete at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic this weekend. UB also hosts the Mid-American Conference Championships from May 13-15.
