Seven Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes Recognized by USTFCCCA

Posted: Mar 04, 2019

NEW ORLEANS – Seven Baldwin Wallace University women's indoor track and field student-athletes have received a total of 11 United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-Great Lakes Region selections.

The top-5 individuals in each event from each region earned All-Region distinction, in addition to each member of the region's top-3 relay teams.

Junior outdoor All-American distance runner Kelly Brennan (Akron/Walsh Jesuit), junior All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve), senior All-OAC sprinter Grace Nemeth (Medina), freshman All-OAC hurdler Amanda Milo (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy), junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View), sophomore All-OAC distance runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) and freshman All-OAC distance runner Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas) combined for 11 of the 740 total All-Region accolades handed out by the USTFCCCA.

Brennan was recognized in the 800-meter, 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs, adding up to six career USTFCCCA Indoor All-Great Lakes Region honors. The junior broke school records in all three events during the course of the season, including the 5,000-meter run record twice. Brennan ran 2:14.03 at the Buckeye Tune-Up; 10:07.86 at the Hillsdale "Wide Track" Classic; and 17:19.51 at the 2019 OAC Indoor Championships to rewrite the school record books.

Buckhannon repeated as an All-Great Lakes Region selection in the shot put while garnering her first accolade in the weight throw. She won the weight throw at the OAC Championships with a then career-best mark of 53 feet, 9.25 inches, was the runner-up in the shot put with a season-best 43'3" toss and was also named Most Outstanding Field Event Athlete for the second consecutive year.

Nemeth also repeated as an All-Region athlete in the 200-meter dash. The senior captured her first All-OAC title and second All-OAC honor when she won the 200 in a career-best time of 25.69 seconds. Nemeth also posted a career-best time of 7.94 seconds in the 60-meter dash at the OAC Championships en route to being named Co-Most Outstanding Sprinter/Hurdler of the meet.

Milo continues her impressive freshman campaign by following up her first All-OAC accolade with her first career All-Great Lakes Region honor. Milo captured the 60-meter hurdle titles at the All-Ohio Indoor Championships and OAC Championships with times of 9.08 seconds and a career-best 9.05 seconds, respectively.

The distance medley relay team of junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Bella Pendola (Warsaw/River View), freshman All-OAC distance runner Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas), sophomore All-OAC distance runner Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) and Brennan also earned All-Great Lakes Region honors. At the Tufts (Mass.) Final Qualifier, the quad posted a season-best time of 12:08.34, which was just over five seconds off the school-record time in the event.

Brennan will continue her season by competing in the 800-meter run at the 2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championships at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 8.