NEW ORLEANS, LA --- Senior pole vaulter Abby Schaffer (Easton, Pa./Easton HS) of the Moravian College indoor track & field team has been named the 2012 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Division III Mideast Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year announced Thursday night at the championship banquet in Grinnell, Iowa as she prepares to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships hosted by the Grinnell College on Friday and Saturday, March 9th and 10th.

Schaffer, who was also the USTFCCCA Mideast Region Field Athlete of Year in 2011, enters the NCAA Championships as the co-No. 2 seed in the pole vault, having earned her season's best of 4.01 meters (13 feet, 1 ¾ inches) at the 2012 Landmark Conference Championships on February 25. Schaffer is the defending NCAA Division III National Champion, clearing a meet record 4.17 meters (13 feet, 8 ¼ inches), and she also won the 2011 NCAA Division III outdoor title with another meet record. 

Schaffer is a three-time pole vault champion at the Landmark Conference Championships, and has captured three ECAC Division III titles in her career.  She is a four-time All-American and was the runner-up at the NCAA Championships in 2010 while competing at Widener University.  Schaffer will compete on Friday at 12:00 p.m. CST.  She will compete sixth in the field of 15 competitors.

To view all of the USTFCCCA Regional Athletes of the Year, visit http://www.ustfccc.org.