2024 USTFCCCA Indoor Track and Field All-Region Honorees
Another banner season indoors for the Hillsdale College men's and women's track and field teams has led to a big haul of honors from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association this week, as the organization announced NCAA DII All-Region honors on Tuesday afternoon.
Ten Chargers received All-Region honors in ten different events, surpassing the nine Chargers who received All-Region honors through the USTFCCCA last year. Honorees are selected in each of the eight regions at the NCAA DII level, with the top five individuals in each event in their given region receiving the award, as well as members of the top three teams in each relay event.
On the men's side, returning All-American Ben Haas received All-Region honors for the second straight season in the weight throw. The sophomore who finished third at the NCAA DII in the event in 2023 will head back to the NCAA DII Championships as the third seed after breaking the Hillsdale and G-MAC records in the event with a throw of 21.88 meters. He's joined on the All-Region team by junior Cass Dobrowolski, who cleared 2.09 in the high jump and just missed a trip to the national meet by a few spots.
Eight Chargers women received All-Region honors, four of whom will be competing at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships this weekend. Junior Liz Wamsley earned All-Region honors in the 5,000m run, returning to the national meet in an event where she earned All-American honors in 2023. Fellow junior Shura Ermakov set a Hillsdale record in the 400m dash earlier this season to earn All-Region honors, and will be competing as well at nationals, as will junior Averi Parker, who earned All-Region in the shot put, and junior Katie Sayles in the weight throw, both of whom have top-eight marks in the nation entering the event.
Four more athletes also earned All-Region honors for the Charger women. Record-setters Neva Polo and Louisa Klaserner set new top all-time marks at Hillsdale College in the pentathlon and 60m hurdles, respectively, to earn All-Region honors, while senior Emily Gerdin was the G-MAC Champion in the triple jump. Junior Reagan Dahlquist also earned All-Region honors in the high jump for Hillsdale.
Six Hillsdale athletes, including five recognized as All-Region by the USTFCCCA, will get a shot to earn All-American honors at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships, held Friday and Saturday in the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas. For a full schedule of events and to follow along with live results, please check the NCAA's stats page here. You can also watch the event live on NCAA.com.
Photos by Reva Ludwig, Isabella Sheehan and Ashland Athletics