Sheldon Earns Fourth Straight All-Region Honor in High Jump

NEW ORLEANS, La. – For the second straight outdoor season and fourth straight season overall, sophomore Ashley Sheldon of the Union College women’s track & field team was named an All-Mideast Region selection from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for the 2025 outdoor season, the association announced last week.
 
To earn All-Region honors, individuals must finish in the top-five of the region in an event and relay teams must finish in the region’s top-three. With her recognition, Sheldon is the first women’s track & field athlete at Union to earn four All-Region honors, breaking a tie with Noemie Bechu ’17 for the most All-Region honors in program history.
 
After picking up All-Region honors in the high jump during both the indoor and outdoor seasons as a first-year, Sheldon did it again as a sophomore after posting the fourth-best high jump in the Mideast Region and 20th-best in Division III during the recently completed outdoor season, a mark of 1.67 meters at the Liberty League Championships on May 2 that won her another conference title, matched her program record and qualified her for last week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. The sophomore also finished the season 16th regionally in the 100-meter hurdles this spring with a top time of 15.39 seconds at the RPI Capital District Classic
 
Sheldon was joined by several Union teammates in the top-20 of the region as well this year. Senior Cat Dacey had the team’s top individual ranking on the track this spring, placing ninth regionally in the 800 meters with a program-record time of 2:15.63 at the Trinity Invitational. First-year Kyleigh Record ranked 12th in the region and second all-time at Union in the same event after finishing right behind Dacey in 2:16.25 at Trinity. Dacey closed her collegiate career with a time of 4:37.60 in the 1500 meters at the AARTFC Championships to rank 14th regionally, while classmate Gabby Baker posted a 400-meter dash time of 57.86 seconds at regionals to sit 11th in the region as well. In addition, junior Grace Ardito joined Sheldon by earning a 15th-place regional ranking in the high jump with a top mark of 1.51 meters, while first-year Lauryn Johnson (34.37 meters) and senior Lauren Armstrong (32.79 meters) placed 10th and 14th, respectively, in the region in the javelin throw.

To go with the individual efforts, the 4×400 relay of Ardito, Baker, Record and sophomore Kat Doran finished fifth regionally after a 4:00.50 result at the AARTFC Outdoor Championships, and the 4×100 relay quartet of Ardito, Baker, Doran and Sheldon also ranked 14th in the region with a time of 50.23 seconds.