Transy Athletes Bring Home Honors

Lexington, Ky. - After dominant individual 2016 indoor seasons culminating in multiple event victories at last weekend's conference championships, Transylvania student-athletes Cole Green and Jordin Fender were named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men and Women's Indoor Track athletes of the Year.

Green capped off a magnificent indoor season at the HCAC Indoor Championships hosted by Defiance College with wins in the 60 meter and 200 meter finals.

It was Fender who set the bar, winning three events at the HCAC championships, including the 60 meters, the 200 meters, and 60 meter hurdles. Fender won a fourth event as part of the 4x200 meter relay team. Fender was an anchor for the first place relay team as well as the 4x400 relay team that set a school record at the championships.   

The hard-earned accolades for Fender and Green headline a list of All-HCAC award winners from the Indoor Track and Field season. Joining Fender on the All-HCAC women's first team were senior Shelby Auxier, senior Erin Marek, and sophomore Savannah Hemmer, who all composed the first place 4x200 meter relay team. Freshman Olivia Kee made the All-HCAC second team while junior Taylor Sanders was an All-HCAC honorable mention.

On the men's ledger, junior Evan Reister was named to the All-Sportsmanship team.

After a season full of new records and individual excellence, Fender saved her best performances for the HCAC Indoor Championships. Her time of 26.15 seconds in the 200 meter final was a new HCAC conference record. The reigning Transylvania student-athlete of the year won the 60 meter final in a time of 7.99 seconds, and took first place in the 60 meter hurdles in 9.50 seconds.

The award caps off a 2016 indoor circuit for Fender that saw the sprinter help set a new record for the 4x200 relay team with a time of 1.46.07 seconds (a conference record) and multiple wins in the 60 meter. Fender captured the HCAC Women Indoor Track athlete of the year award just a week after winning the HCAC track athlete of the week award.

Green's men's Indoor Track athlete of the year award become another piece of hardware to add to his fast-growing collection this winter. Green recently won back-to-back HCAC track athlete of the week awards and broke his own personal record in the 60 meters multiple times during the indoor season, the last time coming in the championships with a time of 6.92 seconds. Green also broke the school record in both the 200 meters at the Depauw Invitational on February 13, and then again at the championships in a time of 22.37 seconds.

The team-wide awards finish off a tremendous indoor season for Transylvania's track and field team who begins their outdoor season on March 18 at Coastal Carolina University.