NEW ORLEANS - On Tuesday, May 26, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) announced All-Americans for the 2020 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field season, with seven Tiffin women honored in eight events.
Due to the cancellation of the championships from COVID-19, the USTFCCCA decided to award All-American honors to all student-athletes who qualified for the startlist prior to the event. A total of 716 honors were handed out to 117 different institutions.
Alphabetically, the Dragon honors went to Rajiah Andrews (60m & 60m Hurdles), Nicole Berry (shot put), Mercedeez Francis (high jump), Marisa Gwinner (high jump), Brenda Johnson (shot put), Keyonna McGill (60m), and Jazilee Williams (pentathlon).
Marisa Gwinner was atop the Division II high jump ranks entering the championships with a mark of 1.80 meters, and was so by a significant margin as nobody else in the country had cleared higher than 1.76 meters. The sophomore hit that mark during the GMAC Indoor Championships at the end of February, increasing the national lead she already held with a mark of 1.76 meters earlier this season. Gwinner may already be the most successful women's track & field athlete that Tiffin has ever had, earning a pair of conference titles and All-American honors as a freshman between indoor and outdoor. She finished third in the event at the 2019 Indoor Championships and followed that up by making history at the Outdoor Championships as Tiffin's first-ever female National Champion.
Mercedeez Francis also qualified in the high jump and was making her first-ever trip to a National Championships meet. The junior was tied for 14th in the event with a season-best mark of 1.71 meters, and can now add All-American honors to her resumé.
Tiffin boasted the No. 4 and No. 5 shot put athletes in 2019-20 with senior Brenda Johnson and sophomore Nicole Berry. Johnson entered the championships in the fourth spot with a season-best and PR of 15.12 meters, while Berry was fifth and just .02 meters behind at 15.10 meters. Johnson and Berry were two of just six DII throwers to eclipse the 15-meter mark this season. Both were set to make their second Indoor Championships appearance after also qualifying in the event last year.
Rajiah Andrews was to be making her first NCAA Indoor Championships appearance, as the sophomore qualified in both the 60m and 60m hurdles. Andrews was ninth in the country in both events heading into the championships with marks of 7.51 seconds in the 60m and 8.59 seconds in the 60m hurdles. Andrews now receives All-American honors in both events.
Keyonna McGill earned a late qualification in the 60m after another athlete scratched from the competition. The freshman looked very impressive all season and was to compete in her first NCAA Championships as the 15th-ranked athlete with a qualifying time of 7.56 seconds.
Jazilee Williams was on the outside looking in at qualification to this year's indoor championships in the pentathlon until the GMAC Championships, where the junior posted a PR of 3,678 points to jump all the way up to ninth in the country. This was to also be Williams' first national meet of her career. She finished first or second in every stage of the event at GMACs.