NEW ORLEANS, La. --- The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association has announced its Division II Indoor Track & Field All-Region honorees for the 2023 season.
Tusculum University received five individual and one relay honor from the USTFCCCA, which grants All-Region status to the top five individuals in each event from each region along with each member of the region's top three relay teams.
For the Pioneer men, senior Marquel Pittman and junior Tyrell Edwards were All-Southeast Region in the 60 meters, along with senior Zackary Nelson in the 400 meters and senior Antonio Aparicio in the 800 meters. Tusculum's 4x400 relay of sophomore Stephen Brewer, junior Dorian Craven, Nelson and Pittman was also honored as All-Southeast Region. Tusculum's women were also recognized in the 60-meter hurdles as freshman Theresa Green-White earned All-Southeast Region honors.
Pittman qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championship in the 60 meters with a time of 6.73 seconds set at the VMI Winter Classic on Jan. 27, which ranks him third in the Southeast Region this season. The Tallahassee, Florida native holds the ninth-fastest time in program history and is second on the program performance list in the event.
Edwards is ranked fifth in the Southeast Region in the 60 meters with a time of 6.78 seconds set Jan. 14 at the Mondo College Invitational. Edwards, a native of Toco, Trinidad and Tobago, is third on the Tusculum all-time performance list in the 60.
Nelson received All-Region honors with the second-best time in the Southeast Region in the 400 meters of 47.54 seconds set Feb. 3 at the VMI Winter Relays. Nelson, who finished second in the 400 at the South Atlantic Conference Championship and will compete at NCAAs, holds the school record and the top 10 times in program history in the event.
Aparicio had the third-best time in the region in the 800 meters as he ran a converted 1:52.71 (actual 1:54.32) at the SAC Indoor Championship on Feb. 25. Aparicio was one of five SAC runners to earn All-Region in the 800, four of whom had their best times of the season at the SAC Championship. The Paterna, Spain native ran sub-1:57 five times this season and has the top 10 times in program history.
Tusculum's 4x400 relay of Brewer, Craven, Pittman and Nelson crossed the line in 3:18.70 (converted to 3:15.58) to take third place at the SAC Championship, with the fourth-best time in the event in program history and third-best in the region. Brewer (Winston-Salem, N.C.) is part of the program-record time of 3:16.86 set at Vanderbilt on Jan. 21, while Craven (Dallas, Texas) has run in four of the top 10 fastest indoor 4x400 relays in school history.
Green-White had the fifth-fastest time in the region in the women's 60-meter hurdles as she broke her own school record in the SAC Championship finals with a time of 8.92 seconds. The Stafford, Texas native also set the school record in the 60 meters at 7.73 seconds during the season and had the second-best time in program history in the 200 meters at 25.73 seconds.