May 26, 2005
ORLANDO - Four members of the UCF women's track team have their eyes on qualifying for their first NCAA National Championship when they travel to the NCAA East Regional at Icahan Stadium in New York City on May 27 and 28.
For co-captain Ann-Louise Larsen, her third trip to the NCAA Regional presents her final opportunity at a national championship berth. The senior high jumper has performed well this season, surpassing the regional standard in eight meets, and tying the school record with a mark of 5-11.25 at the Atlantic Sun Championship. She is currently tied for fifth in the East Region and is also one of five tied at No. 11 in the nation.
Making their second appearance at the regional are junior Tiffany Roebuck and sophomore Katie Fowke. Although she qualified in three throwing events, a still healing ankle injury has forced Roebuck to bypass the discus and concentrate instead on the hammer throw and shot put. She is currently ranked 15th in the region in the hammer with a mark of 185-10, while she is 26th in the shot put at 47-2.5. Both are school records.
Fowke, a pole vaulter, sits in 28th on the regional list after tying her own UCF record of 12-0 at the USF Invitational in April. She has been very consistent this year going over the 11-3 mark in her last three outings.
Meanwhile, junior Diana Chin makes her debut at the regional in two events after establishing school records in both. She is ranked 17th in the region in the long jump thanks to a leap of 20-0.25 and is listed 25th in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.81.
Freshman Vicky Chin, who also qualified for her first trip to the NCAA Regional by way of her conference title in the triple jump, has opted out of competition due to a lower leg injury.
The top five athletes in each event receive automatic bids to the NCAA Championship, while there are also four at-large bids per event that are given based upon regional marks. The 2005 NCAA National Championship takes place from June 8-11 in Sacramento, Calif.