WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State track and field athletes Lauren Gilderdale and William Canty have both been named as 2020 Indoor Track and Field All-Americans by the US Track and Field and Cross Country Collegiate Coaches Association.
Gilderdale will be recognized as a national qualifier in the 20-lb. weight throw, and it is her first All-America honor. She was recently announced as the Westfield State athletic department's female athlete of the year.
Canty earns All-America honors for the second time, this time as a 2020 national qualifier in the heptathlon. He was an All-American in the decathlon with a seventh-place finish at the 2020 NCAA Division III outdoor championships last spring. Canty was recently named as the Westfield State athletic department's John Kurty Award winner for his 4-year success and dedication to Owls' athletics.
The USTFCCCCA altered their awards process in light of the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA Division III indoor championships, which was scheduled for March 13-14 in North Carolina. Both Gilderdale and Canty had traveled to the meet, which was canceled on the eve of competition as the NCAA announced they would not contest any further tournament or championship competitions for the 2020 winter and spring seasons due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The USTFCCCCA release announcing the All-Americans notes: 'Normal policies dictate that All-America honors are awarded to student-athletes who score any portion of a team point (top-eight in the final of an individual event or as a member of a top-eight placing relay event) at the NCAA Championships.
In lieu of conduction of the national championship this season, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA Division III Executive Committee adopted the following criteria:
Based on the selected participants for the national championships initially announced by the NCAA on Sunday, March 8, the following will be recognized as All-America for the 2020 Indoor Track & Field season:
Individual events: ALL student-athletes declared and initially accepted into their event.
Relay events: Members of ALL relays who produced the performance that was declared and initially accepted into their event.
A total of 675 athletes from 161 different institutions were honored on Tuesday.'