Contact: John Sinnett

Lee, Valtin Gear Up For NCAA East Regional Track & Field Meet

For the second-consecutive year, senior Heather Lee and sophomore Alicia Valtin of Campbell University have qualified to compete in the NCAA East Regional Track and Field meet hosted by the University of Florida.

The top-five finishers in each event plus five at-large selections will then compete at the NCAA National Championships hosted by the University of Texas.

For Lee, one of the greatest distance runners in Campbell history, this is an opportunity to cap a brilliant career.

The native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, currently holds or is a part of 12 Campbell records and one Atlantic Sun Conference record. During the 2004 season, she was named the Most Outstanding Female Performer at the Atlantic Sun Championships and earned her third Campbell University Outstanding Female Athlete distinction.

A two-time A-Sun First-Team and three-time Second-Team honoree, Lee has continually placed Campbell on the national map throughout her cross country and track career.

She became the first female cross country athlete ever to compete in the NCAA National Championships in 2003 after picking up her second A-Sun Championship title.

In her final track season, Lee has recorded seven top-10 finishes, highlighted by an A-Sun title in the 5,000 meters (16:21.96).

In preparation for the East Regional, Lee has competed at the Stanford Cardinal Invitational, breaking her previous record in the 1,500 meters, and at the Georgia Tech Invitational where she ran her fourth regional qualifying mark of the season in the 1,500 meters.

Lee will compete in the 5,000 meters at the East Regional meet, despite competing in the event just once this season, ranking 10^th in the region entering the meet. Last season she finished 22^nd in the event and was ranked 34^th nationally in the final season rankings.

Teammate and former prep standout at Western Harnett High School, Valtin is the heir-apparent to Lee.

In her brief collegiate career, Valtin has already earned two First-Team All A-Sun track honors, has earned All-Atlantic Sun Cross Country accolades twice, and was the Atlantic Sun Cross Country Freshman of the Year in 2002.

At the Georgia Tech Invitational earlier this month, she set her first collegiate individual event record breaking Lee's previous mark in the 800 meters with a 2:11.88 performance.

She currently holds the Atlantic Sun title in the 1,500 meters (4:30.12) which she set this season to break her previous league record set during her freshman campaign.

Valtin is also a member of four relay record holding teams: 4x800 meters, 4x1,500 meters, and both the indoor and outdoor distance medley relays.

Last season, Valtin finished 29^th at the Regional meet in the 1,500 meters (4:42.37). She enters this year ranked 20^th overall and is one of four runners representing North Carolina (Erin Donohue, UNC, 2^nd; Shannon Rowbury, Duke, 4^th; Anna Sherman, Wake Forest, 5^th).

On the year, she has six top-10 finishes including 1,500 meter titles at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational and the A-Sun Conference Championships.

Along with Lee, Valtin has also prepared for the East Regional by competing in the Stanford Cardinal and Georgia Tech Invitational meets. At Stanford she ran a personal-best 4:29.66 in the 1,500 meters (nearly 13 seconds faster than last season's East Regional performance), while at Tech she set the new Campbell 800 meter record.

For complete information on the NCAA East Regional Championships, visit www.ncaasports.com.