NEW ORLEANS – The Salisbury University track & field head coach,
Jim Jones, has been named Mid-Atlantic Men's Region Coach of the Year by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday.
Jones lead the Sea Gull men to a 12th place finish in the country at the 2026 NCAA Indoor National Championships, coming home with multiple All-Americans. Both
Kai Smith and
Gavin Shaffer earned First-Team All-American honors in their events. Smith tallied first-team honors in both the 60-meter and 200-meter, while Shaffer earned his honors in the 60-meter hurdles. Smith tallied 3rd in the 60-meter with a time of 6.73 and earned 4th in the 200-meter with a time of 21.19. Shaffer posted a time of 9.50 in the 60-meter hurdles to earn his First-Team All-American honors, placing 7th.
The mens indoor team also tallied nine Mid-Atlantic All-Region honorees this season. On the men's side of the All-Region team, Smith led the way with two nods in the 60-meter and the 200-meter. Shaffer, earned his All-Region honors in the 60-meter hurdles.
The men's 4x400 relay team of
Andrew Osler, Hayden Myers, Sean McHugh, and
Samuel Bradley posted an All-Region time of 3:20.66 at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Meet. They also earned First-Team All-C2C, grabbing gold with a time of 3:24.47. The men's distance medley relay team of
Connor Kinch, Hayden Myers, Justin Freeman, and
Cormac Moroney struck gold with a school record and C2C record time of 10:26.60. That time earned them All-C2C First Team and placed them 23rd in the country.
Also on the men's side, they added four more All-Region honors.
Jon Alicea struck gold in the triple jump at 14.37 meters (47-01.75), which placed him 31st in the country and earned him First-Team All-C2C at the Coast-to-Coast 2026 Indoor Championships.
Justin Freeman tallied second place with a time of 1:53.41 at the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Meet. He also grabbed silver in the 800-meter with a time of 1:55.05, earning Second-Team All-C2C.
Logan Kelsch earned silver and All-C2C Second Team with a throw of 16.15 meters (53-00.00) for his All-Region nod.
Cormac Moroney earned bronze in the mile with a time of 4:21.79 at the C2C Indoor Championships before heading to the All-Atlantic Region Track & Field Conference Meet and grabbed first place with a school record time of 4:14.02.
The Sea Gulls have already started the outdoor season in style, coming off a 4th place finish out of 22 programs as the highest Division III program at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge. SU is back in action on March 28th at the Blue & Silver Challenge in Newport News, Va.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming), Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse), State University of New York Athletic Conference (field hockey), and Colonial Women's Golf Conference (women's golf). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 207 conference championships, and have produced 54 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
