Winders nets four All-Region Awards as six Eagles honored by USTFCCCA

EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Track & Field had six student-athletes collect All-Midwest Region honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association for their efforts during the indoor season.
 
Junior All-American Titus Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) led the Screaming Eagles with four All-Region awards. The 2022 Great Lakes Valley Conference co-Indoor Track Athlete of the Year was named All-Midwest Region in the men’s distance medley relay, the mile, the 3,000 meters and the 5,000 meters.
 
Winders was the top performer in the region in both the men’s mile and the 3,000 meters while ranking No. 3 in both the 5,000 meters and the DMR.
 
Joining Winders from the men’s squad in earning All-Region honors for their efforts in the DMR was junior Madison King (Avon, Indiana) as well as freshmen Silas Winders (Mansfield, Indiana) and Rick Pflanz (Huntingburg, Indiana).
 
USI’s women were represented on the All-Midwest Region list by senior All-American Jennifer Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) and freshman Cameron Hough (Olney, Illinois). Both were named All-Region for their efforts in the 5,000 meters, where Comastri ranked second in the region and Hough fourth in the region.
 
USTFCCCA All-Region honors go to the top five individuals in each event from each region in addition to each member of the region’s top three relay teams.
 
Comastri, Hough and Winders are slated to compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
Winders qualified in the men’s 3,000 and 5,000 meter races, while Comastri and Hough qualified in the women’s 5,000 meters.
 
Winders, the conference champion in three events at GLVC Indoor Championships, ranks third in the 3,000 meters with his adjusted time of 7:54.07. He is 12th in the 5,000-meter field with his time of 13:56.82.
 
Comastri ranks 14th in the 19-competitor field in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:44.91, while Hough’s adjusted time of 16:48.17 puts her at No. 18 in the field.
 
This marks the third straight year Comastri has qualified for nationals during the indoor season. She earned All-America honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters after the meet was canceled due to COVID in 2020 and was a first-team All-American in the 5,000 meters a year ago after finishing fourth in the event at the 2021 NCAA II Indoor Championships.
 
Hough is making her first trip to nationals in track & field after earning All-America honors on the cross country course last fall.
 
Winders, who was named GLVC Track Athlete of the Week three times this season, is making his second trip to indoor nationals after earning All-America honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 meters two years ago.
 
The men’s 5,000 meter race is Friday at 5:55 p.m. (CST), while the women’s 5,000 meters follows at 6:15 p.m. The men’s 3,000 meters is Saturday at 7:05 p.m.