The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced that 14 student-athletes from the University of Redlands men's and women's track & field teams received 17 NCAA Division III Indoor All-Region nods. Seven Bulldogs from each team were included among the 1,590 honorees across the division, with 786 on the men's side and 804 on the women's. In order to qualify for the award, the student-athletes must finish in the top five in their event upon conclusion of the indoor regular season. This marks the fourth year for All-Region awards in NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field.
For the men, senior Luke Bohlinger (Mercer Island, WA) and sophomore Tucker Cargile (Denver, CO) each represented Redlands in two different events. Bohlinger turned in an All-Region performance in the 60 Meters with a time of 6.92 to rank third in the West. He also sits second in the 200 Meters with a time of 22.08. Bohlinger now has five All-Region nods to his name. Cargile cracked the list in the 800 Meters with the fastest time in the region at 1:53.79 in his only performance of the event this indoor season. In the mile, he stopped the clock in 4:13.48 for his second top regional performance. Earlier this spring, he was named the USTFCCCA West Region Men's Track Athlete of the Year.
With a strong showing at the Mountain T's Invitational, senior Nick Burchett (Gold River, CA) became an All-Region runner in the 400 Meters with a time of 51.01, which places him third in the west. This complements his previous award in the 4x400 Relay from 2018.
Junior Maliq Champion (Beaumont, CA) leapt his way to a second All-Region performance in the High Jump, with this year's height of 6' 6 ¾" ranking second in the west. In addition, senior Joseph Esparza (Arcata, CA) shined in the 3000 Meters with a mark of 8:41.12 to rank fourth in the region for his inaugural indoor award.
In the Heptathlon, junior Tyler Lufkin (Yucaipa, CA) and sophomore Jason Waters (Troutdale, OR) pushed each other for All-Region finishes. Lufkin's best score of 4,193 points for third in the region led to his first such award, while Waters repeats his All-Region effort from a year ago by registering this season's fourth-best total of 4,052.
On the women's side, senior Kara Romani (Sacramento, CA) excelled in two events to represent the Bulldogs among the best in the West Region. She totaled the fifth-highest score in the Pentathlon with 3,205 points and reached a distance of 16' 11 ½" to rank fifth in the Long Jump. Romani now owns six All-Region awards.
Juniors Chyenne Kimble (Big Bear Lake, CA) and Jessica Fields (La Vegas, NV) each shined in the 60 Hurdles to earn All-Region accolades. Kimble becomes a three-time All-Region honoree in this event by posting the fastest time in the west this season at 8.90. Fields fired off the third-best mark at 9.09 to earn her third such award. Finishing with the fastest 3000 Meter time in the west, junior Maria Ramirez (Orange, CA) clocked in a time of 10:21.02 for her first All-Region nod for indoor.
First-year Annick Bangou (Redlands, CA) made an impact in her rookie indoor season for her inaugural All-Region honor, which came off a time 7.89 in the 60 Meters.
In the field events, sophomore Bryanna Neagle (Las Vegas, NV) represented the Bulldogs in the High Jump with a height of 5' 1" to tie for fourth in the west, while graduate student Reyna Ta'amu (Lakewood, CA) dominated the region with the top distance of 50' 11" in the Shot Put. Earlier this season, Ta'amu was tabbed the 2019 West Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year.
For a complete list of the All-Region selections, please visit the USTFCCCA website.
The Bulldogs continue their outdoor season with the SCIAC Multi-Dual No. 3 on Saturday, April 13, at 10 a.m.