Freshman thrower leads track and field at Raleigh

The men's and women's track and field teams faced several top schools at last weekend's Raleigh Relays, held on the campus of North Carolina State.

The Bulls claimed one first place spot, and achieved a handful of season bests at the relays, which the team attended at the end of their spring training trip.

"At such a large meet, the competition level is very high. Our athletes look forward to the opportunity to compete against top-notch competitors because it forces them to reach beyond for their best performance," said Bulls' head coach Vicki Mitchell.

For the second time in a row Vanessa Roelofsen was the top performer for UB. With the confidence of her previous victory and the new school record in her pocket, the freshman had another great competition and won the women's javelin with a throw of 169 8.

"It would be an understatement to say that Vanessa is a very talented athlete. She works hard and is highly motivated to push herself to achieve her best. She likes to win and has had a phenomenal composure as a freshman at our first two meets." said Mitchell. "She has directed her nervous energy in a positive manner to produce great throws."

Kelli O'Brien set a new UB record of 11:05.19 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her personal best also earned her fourth place at the meet.

"This was Kelli's first steeplechase in two years, and it was a personal best by almost one full minute. It was a terrific opening performance," said Mitchell.

A pair of fourth place finishes were also claimed by Faith Thompson. The senior turned in a distance of 47-8 1/2 in the shot put and a distance of 182 3 in the hammer throw.

Sarah Vance followed Thompson's performance in the shot put and scored a seventh place finish with a throw of 46 9. Vance also finished 10th in the women's discus with a throw of 140 6.

Several other UB athletes claimed top ten finishes in their events at Raleigh.

Carrie Hinners claimed seventh place in the pole vault with a vault of 11-1 3/4. On the track, Jenny Koeppel tied for ninth in the 5,000-meter run as did Jen Jezorski in the seeded 1,500-meter run and Aleksandra Bykowska in the unseeded field. Stacy Downer turned in a ninth place finish for the Bulls in the 400-meter run with a time of 56.96.

The leading men's athlete was team captain Gary Asbach in the long jump. His jump of 23 feet not only scored him a seventh place finish but also established a new season best. He beat his record set at last week's meet at Wilmington by two inches.

"Gary was very pleased with his 23-foot long jump on Saturday. It was his season best and he certainly has aspiration to jump further throughout the season. As a senior, you can reach down and really put everything into each meet, knowing each opportunity is important," said Mitchell.

The top performer for the Bulls in the triple jump was Rayshon Higgins. He took ninth place with a jump of 46 4.

Todd Joki, competing in the 110-meter hurdles, made it to the finals where he turned in a time of 14.41 seconds in order to claim ninth place.

The men's 4-by-1, 500-meter relay team broke the old UB record with a time of 16:01.45.

Mitchell is not resting on her laurels, however; she is already looking forward to next weekend's meet. The Bulls will compete tomorrow at the McDonald's Invite in Athens, Ohio.

"The McDonald's Invite will be very good for several reasons," Mitchell said. "We will see several MAC schools and compete against them. In addition, Ohio University is the host for the outdoor MAC Championships, so we will have the opportunity to preview their facilities to get fully prepared."