ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University indoor track & field teams had multiple student-athletes recognized by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as All-Region honorees for their individual efforts during the indoor season.
Highlighting this year's list of award winners was junior Evie Bultemeyer (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead) who was named the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region "Athlete of the Year" in addition to being name All-Region in four different events. Bultemeyer was named All-Region in the 400-meter dash, 800-meter run, mile and 3000-meter run. She is currently ranked first nationally in the mile at 4:56.18c (4:53.27 OT) and fourth nationally in the 800 at 2:12.69c (2:11.18 OT). She is undefeated against NCAA DIII competition this season and scored 32.5 points at the MIAA Indoor Championships thanks to three individual titles and being the anchor of a winning relay.
Joining Bultemeyer as an All-Region award winner was sophomore Valerie Obear (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) in the weight throw. Obear qualified for her first NCAA Division III National Indoor Championship in her collegiate career after recording the 16th best distance recorded this season at 56' 10.00." Her mark came at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championship where she finished as the individual event champion and garnered All-MIAA status.
On the men's side, four athletes received All-Region recognition in seniors Vilis Vuskalns (Indianapolis, Ind./Beech Grove), Mitchell Martin (Bowling Green, Ohio), junior Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) and sophomore Josh Davis (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights). All four athletes helped lead the men's team to its second MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championship this season.
Vuskalns and Beakas were both named All-Region in the 5000-meter run. Vuskalns finished as the runner-up at the conference championship after running a time of 14:47.01 which bettered his own school indoor record in the event at the time by 26 one-hundredths of a second. Beakas finished a spot back of Vuskalns in third place at the MIAA Championship in a time of 14:52.18. He then ran a mark of 14:44.11 in the 5000m at the regular-season ending Wartburg (Iowa) College Qualifier to finish ahead of Vuskalns for the all-time school mark in the event.
Mitchell capped a strong indoor season as a senior with a third-place effort in the MIAA meet in the weight throw after recording a toss of 52' 4.75." He had a season-best throw of 56' 5.75" which came at the North Central (Ill.) College Snow Day Track & Field Meet in January which also ranked as the second best throw in the conference this season.
Davis earned All-Region honors in the 60-meter dash and was the MIAA Champion in the event after a running a winning time of 6.92 seconds which was just one one-hundredth of a second shy of the Trine indoor record. His mark during the conference meet was also the top time recorded among MIAA runners this season.
A total of 1595 athletes from 200 different institutions earned All-Region honors nationwide with 805 honors going to the men and an additional 790 to the women.
To earn All-Region honors, an athlete must be one of the top-five individuals in their event in their respective region on the TFRRS Descending Order List. In addition, each member of a region's top-three relay team was selected for the distinction.