CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Based on performances during the 2008 outdoor track and field season and the NCAA EAst Regional at Florida State last weekend, six America East athletes have qualified for the NCAA national outdoor meet in Des Moines, Iowa June 11-14. If athletes did not already qualifiy during regular season competition, the top five finishers in each of the regional events were automatically eligible for the NCAA Championship.
Albany pole vaulter Luke Schoen, the only male athlete representing America East next week, automatically qualified for the national meet with a second-place finish at the regionals. His height of 5.31 meters put him in a tie for second place in Tallahasee and is the 15th-best mark out of 28 competitors entering the meet next week. Schoen earned USTFCCCA All-Region honors for his performance.
Boston University's Jan Bicanic also received All-Region status in the men's discus throw with a throw of 52.67 meters for sixth place, however he did not qualify for NCAA nationals.
Three members of Boston University's 2008 America East Women's Outdoor Track and Field Championship team are slated to compete for a national title in Des Moines. Tahari James recorded a 13.40 meter mark in the triple jump at the NCAA East Regionals for a fourth-place finish, but her jump of 13.64 meters on April 19 (Husky Invitational) already qualified her and puts her at the seven seed at the national meet. Also competing from the Terriers are distance runners Marisa Ryan and Andrea Walkonen, seeded ninth and 26th in the 10,000 meter run. Both qualified with times of 33:47.00 and 34:27.88, respectively, on April 4 at the Stanford Invitational. Stony Brook's Dana Hastie will also be running the 10,000 meter event having qualified on April 18 with a time of 34:14.53 for the 19 seed.
New Hampshire's Rita Ciambra rounds out the America East representatives. Ciambra placed fifth in the pole vault at the NCAA East Regionals with a height of 3.96 meters to make the NCAA cut.
On the women's side, Ciambra earned All-Region honors in the pole vault, while James earned the recognition in both the long jump and the triple jump