NEW ORLEANS -- Trine's Kara Eck and Jenna Gales earned NCAA Division III All-Great Lakes Region honors from the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Eck (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) earned All-Great Lakes Region honors for her performances in the weight throw and shot put for the second consecutive season. Gales (Mendon, Mich. / Mendon) was recognized for her efforts in the 400-meter dash. To be named All-Region, an athlete must either be ranked in the top-five of an individual event in the region according to final TFRRS data or be part of a top-three relay team.
Eck earned a bid to the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships in the weight throw. The junior ranked 13th in the nation in the event and set a school record with a toss of 17.64 meters (57 feet, 10.5 inches) at the MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. Eck earned unanimous MIAA Field MVP honors and All-MIAA recognition for her performance in the meet. She also tied for fifth in the region and ranked 23rd in the nation in the shot put.
Eck will compete for a national championship in the weight throw this Friday, Mar. 10 in Naperville, Ill. The weight throw gets underway at 3 p.m. at North Central College. The performance list of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships can be found HERE. Information on the competition site at North Central College can be found HERE.
Gales had a strong debut campaign for the Thunder to earn the first All-Great Lakes Region honor of her career. The freshman set a school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 58.55 seconds in the IWU Midwest Classic. That time ranked fourth in the region and 40th in the nation. Gales went on to win the event at the MIAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. She earned All-MIAA honors for her efforts, which also included a leg in the winning 4-x-400-meter relay.
In addition to her success in the 400-meter dash, Gales also had a strong season in the 200-meter dash. Gales set a school record in that event with a time of 26.18 seconds, which ranked seventh in the region and just shy of earning her All-Region honors in multiple events.