Five Huskies Earn USTFCCCA All-Midwest Region Honors

NEW ORLEANS, La. – The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) named the Division II All-Region honorees Tuesday afternoon, and five Michigan Tech student-athletes received the prestigious honor from the Midwest Region. To earn All-Region honors, the student-athlete must rank in the top five in each event from each region. 

Matthew Pahl (5000m), Braden Reichl (3000m Steeplechase), and Clayton Sayen (800m & 1500m) received the award on the men's team, while Liz Bloch (1500m) and Emily Byrd (10,000m) were honored on the women's team. This marks the second consecutive All-Region award for Bloch, and the first for Pahl, Reichl, Byrd, and Sayen.

A freshman from Houghton, Michigan, Sayen earned his All-Region honors with a pair of top-four performances. Sayen recorded a time of 1:51.27 in the 800m at the Dr. Keeler Invitational, and he crossed the finish line of the Bison Outdoor Classic in 3:53.33 in the 1500m. His time in the 800m ranks him third in the Midwest and 27th in Division II, while he ranks fourth in the region in the 1500m.

A senior from St. Clair Shores, Michigan, Bloch re-wrote the school record in the 1500m at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic with a time of 4:24.67. The back-to-back GLIAC champion in the 1500m, Bloch currently ranks eighth in Division II and sixth in the region in the 1500m.

A junior from Canton, Michigan, Pahl topped the 10,000m event at the 2019 GLIAC Championships with a time of 32:04.39. A qualifier at the 2017 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Pahl set a school record in the 10,000m with a time of 29:46.89, breaking his own record from 2017. Pahl's best time in the 5000m came at the Bison Outdoor Classic, where he finished in 14:23.68 to rank him fifth in the region and 14th in the country.

A cross country All-American, Reichl was the winner in the 3000m Steeplechase as the Green River, Wyoming native crossed the tape first at the 2019 GLIAC Championships with a time of 9:00.20, leading for most of the race. Reichl, who also set a school record in the 5000m at the Raleigh Relays, currently ranks eighth in the region and 16th in the country.

Byrd earned her All-Region honor in the 10,000m at the Raleigh Relays, the first meet of the season, in a record-breaking run of 35:29.30. A third-place finisher at the 2019 GLIAC Championships, the junior from Perrysburg, Ohio currently ranks fourth in the Midwest region and 13th in the country.

A total of 1,831 honors were awarded by the USTFCCCA to member institutions. Click here for the complete list of USTFCCCA All-Region honorees. The 2019 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field National Championships will be held on May 23-25 from Kingsville, Texas.