University of Massachusets Athletics
Bakanowski, Hoagland To Compete At NCAA Track Regionals
May 23, 2006 | Men's Track & Field
May 23, 2006
AMHERST, Mass. - Junior Erik Hoagland (Belchertown, Mass.) and sophomore Kristen Bakanowski (Northboro, Mass.) will each be traveling to Greensboro, N.C. this weekend to compete in the NCAA East Regional. This will be the first trip for both to the NCAA Regional as each looks to advance to the NCAA Championships in the triple jump and pole vault, respectively.
The NCAA East Regional will be hosted by North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro at the Irwin Belk Track & Field. N.C. A&T will become the first Historically Black College or University to host a NCAA track regional.
Hoagland ranks 28th in the East Region in the triple jump and 75th overall nationally with his top mark of 49-feet, 7-inches. That distance is the UMass school outdoor record; he also owns the indoor triple jump record and ranks among the all-time top-five in the indoor and outdoor long jump after just one season with the team.
Bakanowski enters the regional meet ranked 27th in the East Region and 105th nationally in the pole vault with her top height of 12-feet even which she cleared at the Atlantic 10 Championship meet three weeks ago in Charlotte, N.C. The sophomore is tied for the UMass indoor school record, also at 12-feet even, and ranks second all-time during the outdoor season at that same height.
Hoagland, the UMass Spring Male Scholar-Athlete, is a three-time Atlantic 10 Champion in both the long jump and triple jump while maintaining a 3.7 grade point average in architectural design.
He is in his first season with the UMass track and field team after walking on to the team this past fall and being completely out of the track and field world for two years. During the indoor track season, he became the first UMass student-athlete to ever win both the long jump and triple jump in one meet.
This spring, he won his third A-10 title with his career-best leap of 49-feet, 7-inches in the triple jump. His top leap at the championship meet was nothing short of spectacular as he flew into the UMass record books with the top mark in school history eclipsing the previous record set by Ferde Adoboe nearly 20 years ago in 1987. His jump at the A-10 meet was nearly seven inches farther than Adoboe's previous school record and was the first time since Tom Galligani recorded the third best jump in school history in 1995 that any student-athlete has cracked the top five list.
Bakanowski was crowned A-10 Champion after winning the pole vault for the first time at the outdoor conference meet clearing 11-feet, 5.75 inches. She has also won the indoor pole vault in each of her two seasons.
The sophomore who wants to be an elementary school teacher also added to her list of career accolades two weeks ago when she won the outdoor New England Outdoor Championship title in the event when she cleared her top-height of the season at 12-feet. Bakanowski went for the school record later in the meet attempting a vault of 12-feet, 7-inches, but just narrowly clipped the bar on her way down in her final attempt of the meet.
Despite a nagging ankle injury that has slowed her down somewhat this season, Bakanowski returned to championship form over the last three weeks. picking up her third Atlantic 10 Championship title in the pole vault. Along with her A-10 hardware, Bakanowski won the pole vault title at the 2005 New England Indoor Championships meet.
The NCAA East Regional will begin on Friday morning and conclude on Saturday. Hoagland is slated to compete in the triple jump on Saturday at Noon, while Bakanowski is schedule to begin competition at 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance or on each day of the meet. The two-day pass is $18 for adults and $10 for children 17-and under and senior citizens. A single-day pass is $10 for adults and $7 for children 17-under and senior citizens.
For more information on the regional please contact the N.C. A&T Athletics Department at 336-256-0285. Please direct credential and other media questions to Brian Holloway 336-334-7141.