Track and Field | 5/20/2023 1:06:00 PM

NEW ORLEANS, La.  On Friday, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its 2023 All-Region list. Among the names were Brandi Gardner, Aaron Nash, and Drew Topoly from the Methodist University Men's and Women's Track & Field programs.
 
All-Region honors are awarded to the top-5 individuals in each event from each region, as well as to each member of the top-3 ranked relay teams.

A freshman hailing from Lacey, Washington, Gardner received this accolade for her performance in the women's long jump. Her best jump of 5.60 meters, which ranks atop the south region, came at the 6th Annual Adidas Trojan Challenge.
 
A month later she claimed first-place and first team All-Conference honors at the 2023 USA South Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Nash, a sophomore from Powhatan, Virginia, picks up the honor for his efforts in the men's long jump this season. It was during the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational where he recorded his longest leap of 7.09 meters. Among the region, his mark sits as the fifth-best in the south.
 
He was also an All-Conference (second team) athlete at the league meet after coming in second place in the men's long jump.
 
A native of Smithfield, North Carolina, Topoly wraps up his collegiate career by collecting All-Region laurels in both the men's 3,000-meter Steeplechase and the men's 10,000-meter race. During the 2023 Liberty Twilight Qualifier, the senior posted his fastest time of nine minutes, 16.25 seconds in 3k steeple and earlier in the season he clocked a 30:49.91 (school record) time following his 10k run at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational.
 
Not only would he be regionally ranked third in both events, he took home the gold medals for each one by placing in first at the conference meet as well.
 
This is the second year in a row that Nash and Topoly have been named to the All-Region list. This is Gardner's first time earning this award.