Six Panthers Garner USTFCCCA All-American Honors

Six Panthers combined for seven All-American nods.

Joey Caspar (400-meter hurdles), Benjamin Hughes (1,500), Owen Johnson (3,000 steeplechase) and the 4x400 relay quartet of Wyatt Lawton, Emerson Kington, Nate Gardner and Caspar logged United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) All-American honors. The distinction is based on the athletes' finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS

• Caspar (First Team)

• Caspar earns his initial All-American nod.

• In the qualifying rounds, the sophomore clocked the third-quickest time at 52.15 seconds. That effort was 0.17 ticks faster than his program-record clocking at the NESCAC Championships.

• The Panther claimed seventh in the championship final after stopping the clock with a time of 52.86.

• Caspar closes his second campaign with five all-region nods across the indoor and outdoor seasons. He also secured three all-conference honors in the 400, 400 hurdles and the 4x400 relay.

• Hughes (Second Team)

• Hughes secures national recognition for the first time.

• Slotted as the 17th seed entering the meet, the junior lowered his program record by a tenth of a second with a clocking of 3:47.84. His time clinched the last spot in the final.

• In the championship heat, the Panther raced to a time of 3:49.73 to grab 10th on the final leaderboard.

• He earned all-region recognition in both the 800 (1:51.58) and 1,500 (3:47.94).

• Johnson (Second Team)

• In his final campaign, Johnson tallied All-American status.

• Entering the national meet as the penultimate qualifier, the senior clocked a personal-best 9:05.39 to nab a spot in the championship final.

• The Panther crossed the finish line in 10th place with a time of 9:13.23.

• Johnson tallied runner-up honors in the event at the conference meet and his fourth all-region nod as a member of the navy and white.

• 4x400 Relay (Second Team)

• In the qualifying heats, Middlebury ran to a program-record 3:11.51 and clinched a spot in the last race of the event.

• The quartet of Lawton, Kington, Gardner and Caspar clocked a combined time of 3:16.61 in Saturday's championship heat.

• The All-American honor is the second for Caspar and Kington, while Gardner and Lawton tally their initial national recognition.

Middlebury now has 42 Outdoor All-American honorees. Athletes and relay squads that finish in the top eight spots log first-team honors, while individuals claiming ninth through 16th and relays earning ninth through 12th tally second-team laurels. The full list of honorees can be found here.