NEW ORLEANS, La. — A school-record six members of the Wheaton College (Mass.) women's track & field team were named to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-East Region Team, it was announced by the USTFCCCA.
Senior Kristen DeBella (Boston, Mass.), junior Jessie Dickson (Southbury, Conn.), senior Michaina Loriston (Boston, Mass.), first year Adeline Takantjas (Belmont, N.H.), Maya Thomas (Goffstown, N.H.) and senior Anika Wagner (Elmore, Vt.) were all selected for the Lyons.
The top-8 individuals in each event from each region earned All-Region distinction, in addition to each member of the region's top-8 relay teams. The regions used for this award – East, Great Lakes, Metro, Mid-Atlantic, Mideast, Midwest, Niagara, North, South, and West – match those used during the cross country season.
The criteria was changed from previous years, where the top-5 individuals and top-3 relay teams received All-Region recognition.
Loriston repeats as an All-Region honoree in the 60 meters after posting the second-fastest time in the region with a mark of 7.60 to place second at the New England Division III Championship at The TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Mass. on March 1. The Boston Prep. product posted five top-three finishes in the event over the season, including three victories for Wheaton.
Wagner earns All-Region status for the third straight year to match Schyler Wyse '24 as the only two Lyons to be named three years in a row since the USTFCCCA has been recognizing All-Region athletes in 2016. The graduate of Stowe High School owned the sixth-best mark in the weight throw with a distance of 16.10 meters at the New England Championship on March 1. The Econometrics & Quantitative Economics major was dominant in the event, recording three wins during the season to go with a pair of runner-up efforts. Wagner racked up six top-four finishes during the indoor campaign.
Wheaton's 4X400-meter relay team of Dickson, Thomas, DiBella and Takantjas turned in the seventh-fastest time in the region with a mark of 4:01.73 at the New England Division III Championship. This unit has been the primary quartet for the Lyons with Thomas competing in five relays, Takantjas and Dickson each running in four different meets and DiBella competing in three different meets in the event.
Wheaton returns to the track on Friday, April 17 when it travels to Cambridge, Mass. to compete in the Sean Collier Invitational hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
