ANGOLA, IND. -- Several members of the Trine University men's and women's indoor track & field teams have been 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.
The USTFCCCA awarded a total of 1152 honors on 92 different institutions with 579 honors on the men's side and an additional 573 for women's teams.
On the men's side, seven athletes received All-Region recognition, including two that earned All-Region accolades in two events in senior Neil O'Brien (Whiteland, Ind./Roncalli) and sophomore Jake Gladieux (Oregon, Ohio/Whitmer). O'Brien earned All-Region in both the mile and as part of the distance medley relay. In the mile, O'Brien finished second overall in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Indoor Championship in what was then a school record time of 4:15.55. He later improved that mark at the Division III Elite Championships a week later with a mark of 4:11.43 which also ended up as the second fastest nationally. As a member of the DMR, O'Brien helped Trine capture the event at the MIAA Indoor Championship in a time of 10:40.69 and later aided in improving the school record in the event the very next week at the Elite Championship in a time of 10:17.54 which also ranked as the seventh fastest among Division III schools. Gladieux was also a member of the DMR team to garner All-Region honors in addition to be recognized for his performance this season in the 60-meter hurdles. Gladieux became a two-time MIAA Indoor Champion in the 60m hurdles this season after running a winning time of 8.30 seconds. He went on to improve that time in the Elite Championship (8.27) to rank eighth overall nationally.
Additional members of the DMR that earned All-Region honors were the duo of senior Levi Neuzerling (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and sophomore Aiden Lapp (South Bend, Ind./Riley).
Senior Jack Beakas (Auburn, Ind./DeKalb) was tabbed All-Region in the 5000-meter run for the second straight indoor season. Beakas finished as the runner-up in the event at the conference championship meet (15:04.55) and posted a season-best time of 14:53.04 which came at the Elite Championship and ranked 10th among all D-III student-athletes this year.
Sophomore Ben Williams (Farmington Hills, Mich./Harrison) had a strong season in the long jump with a season-best attempt of 22' 9.00" which was the 15th best recorded distance in Division III.
Lastly, freshman Danny Vinson (Berrien Springs, Mich./Berrien Springs) earned his first All-Region award in the 60-meter dash after a "rookie" season that saw him finish as the MIAA Champion in the 60m dash (6.99 seconds) and also went on to earn All-MIAA honors in the event. In the final meet of the season (D-III Elite Championship), Vinson recorded his best time of the year of 6.96 seconds.
Two members of the women's team were named All-Region in junior Valerie Obear (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) and senior Megan Theismann (Ossian, Ind./Norwell).
Obear earned All-Region recognition in the weight throw for the second consecutive year. She finished as the MIAA Champion in the weight throw at a distance of 57' 3.50" about five-and-a-half feet farther than second place and went on to be named All-MIAA. Her distance at the MIAA Championship was her best of the season and ranked as the second farthest among D-III athletes.
Theismann was tabbed All-Region in the 5000m after becoming a MIAA champion in the event with a season-best time of 17:42.93. As an event winner, Theismann also earned All-MIAA honors and at the national level, her mark ranked as the 10th fastest in Division III.
To earn All-Region honors, an athlete must be one of the top-5 individuals in their respective region on the final TFRRS Descending Order List. In addition, each member of a region's top-3 relay team was also selected for distinction.
