Track and Field to Host UMass Invitational Saturday :: UMass will play host to nine other schools.

April 9, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - On Saturday, the track and field teams will play host for the UMass Invitational at the Track and Field Facility. The meet is scheduled for 11:30 A.M. UMass will host the following teams: Albany, Amherst College, Boston College, Central Connecticut State, Fairfield, Hartford, Stony Brook, Westfield State, and Williams. Both teams are coming off a strong weekend at the UConn Invitational last weekend. The men placed fourth overall, while the women placed sixth in the first outdoor meet of the season. UMass was scheduled to host the Five-Way Meet two weeks ago, but was cancelled due to inclement weather.

At the first meet of the outdoor season, the top performance came from sophomore Lisa Wilson (Holden, Mass.) who placed third in the discus throw. With a distance of 145 feet, one inch, Wilson now holds UMass' third best discus throw and also qualifies for both the New England Championships and the ECAC Championships. In addition, Wilson qualified for the New England Championships in the shot put. Wilson placed sixth in the competition with a throw of 42 feet, eight inches.

For the men's team, the Minutemen took first place in three events and qualified for the New England Championships in three events. In the 400 meter dash, senior Nathan Barksdale (Valparaiso, Indiana) placed first with a time of 49.76 seconds. Senior Nils Fischer (Stow, Mass.) took first place in the 5000 meter run with a time of 15:02.57. The relay team of Barksdale, sophomore Brian Miller (Foxboro, Mass.), sophomore Ian Hackney (Stratford, Conn.), and sophomore Samuel Laorenza (North Andover, Mass.) placed first in the 4x100 meter relay in 43.24 seconds. The relay team's first place finish also qualifies them for the New England Championships.

Hackney also took third place in the 200 meter dash. His time of 22.28 seconds qualified him for the New England Championships. Junior Jesse Regnier (Hampden, Mass.) took second place in the 3000 meter steeplechase. With a time of 9:27.48, Regnier also qualifies for the New England Championships.

For the women, sophomore Holly Heinricher (Foxboro, Mass.) qualified for the New England Championships in the 200 meter dash. Heinricher placed seventh with a time of 26.08 seconds. Red-shirted junior Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) also qualified for the New England Championships in the pole vault competition. Bakanowski placed second with a height of 11 feet, 5.75 inches.

Senior Christina DeRosa (Sound Beach, N.Y.) is coming off a record setting weekend at the Stanford Invitational. DeRosa was named the UMass/Dinn Bros. Athlete of the Week after smashing the UMass 10K record, placing third in her section with a time of 34:26.95. She placed 24th overall and was the 17th fastest collegiate athlete. Posting a provisional NCAA qualifying time, DeRosa broke the previous UMass record for the 10K held by Kelly Liljeblad of 35:10.97.

UMass will also play host to the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Championships May 3-4.

Last season, Lisa Wilson set a facility record in the discus throw with a distance of 136 feet at the Six-Way Meet, while Mary Serdakowski set a facility record in the 110-meter hurdle with a time of 14.67 seconds at the Eight-Way Meet.

UMass Invitational Meet Schedule

Field Events
11:30 Shot Put-M-(Infield)
Shot Put-W-(Infield)
Javelin-M-(Throws area)
Javelin-W-(Infield)
Long Jump-M followed by Triple Jump M
Long Jump-W followed by Triple Jump W
Pole Vault-W followed by M

To begin at the conclusion of the W JT-
HJ-W followed by HJ M

To begin at the conclusion of the M SP-
Hammer-M-(Throws area) followed by Hammer W

To begin at the conclusion of the W SP-
Discus-W-(Infield) followed by Discus M

Track Events
12:00	4 x 100m-M
12:05	4 x 100m-W
12:15	Steeplechase-M
12:30	Steeplechase-W
12:45	1500m-M
12:55	1500m-W
1:05	400m-M
1:15	400m-W
1:25	100m-M-Final by time
1:35	100m-W-Final by time
1:45	110H-M-Final by time
1:55	100H-W-Final by time
2:05	800m-M
2:15	800m-W
2:30	400IM-M
2:40	400IM-W
2:50	200m-M
3:00	200m-W
3:10	5,000m-M
3:30	5,000m-W
3:50	4 x 400m-M
3:55	4 x 400m-W

Directions to UMass and the Track Facility:

For general directions to UMass: go to www.umass.edu/visitorsctr/Directions_to_Campus. For directions to the track and field facility go to: www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/umas/genrel/auto_pdf/athletics-visitors-guide

Parking

Bus and van parking is allowed in the lot adjacent to the track, soccer and softball facilities. Lot # 33 east of the softball facility is also available. Parking closest to the throwing area is located south of the track in Lot # 11, off Stadium drive adjacent to the football stadium and throws area.