By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
NEW ORLEANS – Seven individuals from the Fort Hays State track and field teams were recognized as 2023 USTFCCCA Indoor All-Central Region performers, announced Tuesday (March 7) by the coaches association. The top five individuals in each event from each region earn All-Region distinction, in addition to each member of the region’s top three relay teams.
The Tigers picked up five separate all-region honors, including the 4x400m relay team of Hayden Albright, Philip Landrum, Ethan Lang and Nolan Churchman, both Jacob Clark and Ryan Stanley in the pole vault, Churchman in the heptathlon and Mattie Rossi in the pentathlon.
This is Landrum’s 11th All-Region honor, including five indoors and six outdoors. Churchman now has seven All-Region awards, including three indoor honors and four recognitions outdoors. It is this sixth all-time honor for Stanley, including his fourth award indoors.
It is the first indoor honor for Albright, Lang, Clark and Rossi. Albright is now a five-time All-Region selection after garnering four outdoors, while Lang picked up his fourth-career All-Region recognition. Clark received his second All-Region honor after also picking up the distinction during the outdoor season last spring. Rossi had earned five outdoor All-Region honors before picking up her first indoor award this season.
The 4x400m relay team broke the school record with a time of 3:11.10 in February, second-best in the region and fourth-fastest in the country. Stanley and Clark tied for third in the region and fifth in the nation with a top clearance of 17-2.75, while both Rossi (school-record 3,815 points) and Churchman (5,304 points) ranked fourth in the region in their combined events. Rossi had the seventh-highest point total in the pentathlon nationally, while Churchman ranks 12th in the country in the heptathlon.
All seven All-Region honorees will represent FHSU at the 2023 NCAA Division II Indoor Championships this weekend (March 10-11) in Virginia Beach, Va.