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Sports Recap
Outdoor Track and Field
Roelofsen, Richards advance to NCAA Championships
Two UB athletes have advanced to the NCAA Track and Field Championships, thanks to their performances at the NCAA East Regional Championships last weekend at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Women's javelin thrower Vanessa Roelofsen and men's long jumper Roy Richards finished in the top five in their events to automatically qualify for the national championship meet, to be held June 7-10 in Sacramento, Calif.
Roelofsen finished second in the javelin with a throw of 164-9 (50.22m). The distance was second only to UNC-Wilmington's Anna Raynor (168-0, 51.20m), who also defeated Roelofsen when the two athletes met at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational to open the outdoor season in March. Roelofsen, a Second Team All-Mid-American Conference honoree, also earned All-East recognition with her performance.
Richards finished fourth in the men's long jump, breaking a six-year-old UB record in the process. Richards posted a career-best and school record mark of 24-11 (7.59m) to break the mark of 24-10 (7.56m) set by MAC champion Kamau Halim in 2000. Richards finished second in his flight behind Florida State's Johnta Griffin (25-2.75, 7.69m). Florida's Mike Morrison won the overall title with a leap of 25-6.75 (7.79m). For his efforts, Richards also earned All-East honors.
Three other UB athletes also competed in the East Regional Championships.
Rayshon Higgins placed 13th in the men's triple jump with a distance of 49-8.25 (15.14m). Brian Heim finished 16th overall in the men's 400-meter hurdles in 52.02. Heim finished second in his heat as the top finisher in each of the six heats and the next two fastest overall times moved into the finals. Both Higgins and Heim won MAC championships in their respective events on May 13.
Freshman Caitlin Godin competed in the women's high jump, but finished with no height. She was unable to clear the opening height of 5-7.25 (1.71m).
In the team-points competition, the UB women received eight points for Roelofsen's second-place finish, placing 25th among 52 teams. The UB men scored five points for Richards' fourth-place showing and tied for 38th overall among 54 squads. South Carolina's women (79.5) and Florida State's men (97) took the team titles.
Basketball
Bulls extend Witherspoon's contract through 2012
Men's basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon, whose teams have won 59 games over the past three seasons, has received a three-year contract extension. Due to university policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The extension keeps Witherspoon, a Western New York fixture who has coached at nearby Sweet Home High School and at Erie Community College before taking over at UB early in the 1999-2000 season, on the Bulls' sidelines through 2012.
"I am very happy to be able to extend Reggie's contract and to show the kind of commitment to him that reflects his accomplishments here at UB," said Warde Manuel, director of athletics. "Through the diligence of Reggie and his staff, the Buffalo basketball program has risen from the bottom of the conference to become a highly respected Division I program that is in position to contend for a Mid-American Conference championship on an annual basis."
President John B. Simpson echoed Manuel's comments by saying, "Coach Witherspoon has been a tremendous representative of our university, both on and off the court. He has become an integral part of the university community, recently serving as our campus SEFA (State Employee Federated Appeal) chair, and he has continued to build pride in our men's basketball program throughout Western New York, and indeed, wherever UB alumni reside."
Witherspoon, the 2003-04 MAC Coach of the Year, recently was named a bench coach for the USA Basketball Under-18 team trials this summer, and has led UB to its best three-year period in its Division I history.