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 2026 season.
Tusculum University received honors in eight individual and one relay 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.
The Pioneer women had five All-Region honorees across four events, with senior Jahzara Hart (200 meters) and sophomore Kori Moore (60 hurdles) earning Top Region Performer recognition for having the best time in the region in their events. Hart was also All-Region in the 60 meters, with sophomore Qitarah Castlin also earning All-Region in the 60 and 200. Senior Shanice Cox was All-Region in the 200 meters, and was part of the 4x400 relay along with Moore, Castlin and junior Kialia Claiborne.
Tusculum's men were represented on the All-Region list by junior Lansford Cunningham in the long jump and freshman Ivan Garcia Rubio in the 60-meter hurdles.
Cox, Hart and Moore were All-Region for the second straight year after leading Tusculum to a second-place finish at the South Atlantic Conference Indoor Championship, the best finish in program history for the Pioneers. Castlin and Claiborne are first-time All-Region honorees, as are Cunningham and Garcia Rubio for the Tusculum men.
Hart, Cox and Castlin each posted the top times in the region in the 200 meters at the SAC Championship, with Hart running 23.77 seconds, Cox 23.90 seconds and Castlin 23.92 seconds. All three qualified for the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships with their performances, and swept the medal stand in the event in the SAC.
Hart had the second-best time in the region in the 60 meters at 7.31 seconds set at the VMI Winter Relays on Feb. 6, with Castlin running 7.44 seconds for the fifth-best time in the Southeast at the VMI Winter Classic on Feb. 14. Moore's region-best time of 8.46 seconds in the 60 hurdles was set at the Vanderbilt Invitational on Jan. 16.
Tusculum's 4x400 relay of Moore, Cox, Claiborne and Castlin ran 3:45.17 at the SAC Championship, breaking the meet and program records and taking second place overall in the region.
Garcia Rubio had the fourth-fastest time in the region in the men's 60-meter hurdles when he ran 8.06 seconds at the VMI Winter Relays on Feb. 6. Cunningham's mark of 7.55 meters (24 feet, 9 1/4 inches) was second-best in the region at the VMI Winter Classic on Feb. 14, and he qualified third for nationals with that performance.
Tusculum will compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championship at Virginia Beach, Virginia on March 13 and 14. Prelims in running events will be Friday afternoon, along with the finals in the men's long jump, with running finals on Saturday evening.
