NEW ORLEANS— Ten Colorado Mesa University track and field athletes earned a combined 12 All-South Central Region honors, which were announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association on Wednesday.
The top-5 individuals in each event from each of the nation's eight NCAA Division II regions, according to the season-long performance lists, earn the awards as does each member of the region's top-3 relay teams.
Dawson Heide and
Eddie Kurjak led the group as 2-event honorees and were also two of the Mavericks' four Top Regional Performer award winners.
Miller Jones and
Josie Coffey were the others.
The Maverick men, who qualified four men for this weekend's NCAA Division II National Championships, received nine all-region awards with
Zace Buckhold (high jump),
Teo Casados (200 meters),
Justin Thompson (long jump) and
Elijah Williams (200 meters) joining Heide, Kurjak and Jones on the list.
Coffey (high jump),
Augustine Hancock (weight throw) and
Venesa Handzhiyska (triple jump) were the Mavs' three women's honorees.
Heide was the top performer in the heptathlon with his national-qualifying score of 5,559 points, good for the second in seed in the 14-man field, and was also an all-region selection in the 60-meter hurdles. He now has five career all-region honors and has been the South Central Region's Top Regional Performer in the heptathlon for back-to-back years.
Kurjak was honored in both the high and triple jump events and will compete in both at this weekend's NCAA Championships. He is seeded fourth (tie) in the high jump at 2.20 meters and was the Top Regional Performer in that discipline with his school-record setting clearance. He was also the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion in the high jump. These all-region awards are the first of his track and field career.
Thompson, a 6-time national qualifier, received his seventh career all-region honor in the long jump. He is seeded seventh heading into the national meet and won the RMAC title.
Jones, a freshman, will be making his NCAA Championship debut as the No. 6 seed in the triple jump with his qualifying mark of 15.14 meters. He also went on to win the RMAC title in his first conference meet.
Coffey will be making her fifth NCAA Championship appearance and has now earned all-region honors in seven consecutive indoor and outdoor seasons. The redshirt junior is seeded seventh (tie) in the women's high jump for this week's national meet at 1.74 meters and is the only Maverick qualifier on the women's side. She won her fourth career RMAC title and has now been the Top Regional Performer three times.
Hancock, a sophomore, and Handzhiyska, a freshman, received their first all-region certificates.
Buckhold and Casados are also first time honorees while Williams picked up his second indoor 200-meter honor in three years.
