A program record 10 student-athletes from Lenoir-Rhyne earned All-American honors at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Championships highlighted by the first individual National Champion in program history as Alexis Brown took home the top spot in the 200m.

Brown, a freshman, posted the fastest time in the history of the NCAA Indoor Championships as she crossed the finish line in first place in the 200m in a time of 23.26. Brown won by .10 of a second over Ayana Fields of Cal Poly Pomona and grabbed 10 points for the Bears in the process. Brown also earned All-American accolades in the 60m, finishing fourth with a time of 7.36 seconds to garner five points.

Melody Jones competed in the 60m hurdles at 3:40 p.m. Saturday and grabbed a fifth place finish with a time of 8.43 seconds to secure four more points for LR.

In total, the women’s team — who sent multiple athletes to the championships for the first time ever — finished in 12th place with 19 points which was the highest finish of any SAC school.

On the men’s side, Dario Matau was the standout earning a pair of National Runner Up accolades. In the 60m dash, Matau finished in 6.67, just .05 off the first place finisher to earn eight points. He also was the second place finisher in the 200m dash with a sprint of 20.75. Matau single handedly accounted for 16 points.

Jacob Wadsworth competed in the heptathlon over the two-day championship and finished in fourth place. Wadsworth came in first overall in the 60m (6.90s) and the 1000m (2:44.31) and took second in the long jump (7.27) in the seven event competition. Wadsworth’s 5523 points in the event were a personal best and enough for five points.

The last LR event of the day was the 4x400m relay team of Wadsworth, Matau, Lucas Besong and John Sisson. The quartet finished seventh with a time of 3:11.85 to grab two more points.

The Bears men’s team would place seventh overall, the best finish in program history at the Indoor Championships.

This marks the first time since 2012 that members of the Lenoir-Rhyne Women’s Track and Field team are represented in the NCAA Indoor Championships. The men are in their second straight NCAA Indoor Championship and the sixth time in program history. Wingate was the only other SAC school in the top 10 as they finished in 10th place.