May 29, 2008

AMHERST, Mass. - Four University of Massachusetts track and field student-athletes will head to Florida State this Friday and Saturday for the NCAA East Regional Meet. Kristen Bakanowski (pole vault), Christina DeRosa (5,000 meters), and Lisa Wilson (discus) will represent the UMass women's team, while Jesse Regnier (3,000 meter steeplechase) represents the men's team. Each will be competing to qualify for the NCAA National Championship Meet.

The lone senior of the group, DeRosa (Sound Beach, N.Y.) has enjoyed her most productive season as a Minutewoman. She ranks 24th in East Region in 5,000 meters and 28th in nationally in 10,000 meters. She is currently "on the bubble" for qualifying for the 10,000 meter run for the NCAA National Championships with her school record performance from the Stanford Invitational earlier this spring. She also holds the UMass indoor 5,000 meter record and ranks second all-time at UMass in outdoor 5K and indoor 3K. She was the 2008 Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track 10,000 Meter Champion, the 2007 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Champion, and the 2007 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

After redshirting the 2006-07 season, Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) is the only member of the group who has competed at the NCAA Regional Meet previously. In 2006, she tied for 16th after clearing 12-feet even. This season, Bakanowski ranks 14th in East Region in pole vault after setting the UMass school record (12-feet, 7.50 inches). She also set a new school record for the indoor pole vault (12-feet, 11.50 inches) breaking her previous school record mark of 12-feet. Despite an up-and-down spring season, Bakanowski is one of the premier pole vaulters in the New England Region. To her credit she has won the 2008 ECAC Indoor Championships; the 2008 A-10 Indoor Championships; the 2006 Indoor & Outdoor A-10 Championships; the 2006 New England Outdoor Championship; the 2005 Indoor A-10 Championships; and the 2005 New England Indoor Championships.

One of the most improved track and field athletes of this season is Wilson (Holden, Mass.) who is the Minutewomen's top thrower and will be competing in the discus. She ranks 21st in East Region in the discus with a school-record qualifying mark of 155-feet, 9 inches. This season, she also recorded the second-best marks in school history in the hammer and the shot put.

Representing the men's team will be Regnier (Hampden, Mass.) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase. Regnier ranks 32nd in East Region with a qualifying time of 9 minutes, 5.60 seconds. A team captain for both track and cross country, Regnier was also named the 2007 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year this past fall.

The NCAA East Regional Championships will be hosted by Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. The meet will begin on Friday morning and conclude on Saturday evening. A complete schedule of events and live results can be found at http://seminoles.cstv.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/08-ncaa-east-regional.html.