After a successful outdoor track season in which 10 school records were broken, including one that toppled an existing NCAA Division II record, 19 athletes from the men’s and women’s track teams qualified to compete in the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 26 through 28.
The women go into competition ranked fifth, while the men are ranked 24th in the latest national rankings.
Sisters Emily and Molly Oren are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the 3K steeplechase and Emily will look to defend her NCAA DII title in the event last year. Emily Oren’s steeplechase time of 9:50.54 at this year’s GLIAC Championship is the fastest time ever run in the event in NCAA DII history.
Emily Oren will also look to defend her 5K title from last year.
“I am really excited about my last nationals meet and I think the team as a whole has a chance to do something really special and it’s exciting to be a part of it and to have potential to go out on a really good note,” Emily Oren said. “I have a much bigger load in this meet than I ever have outdoors so that will be challenging, but I am looking forward to it.”
Over the past month, both track teams have been gearing up for the national meet with stand-out performances at both the GLIAC Conference Championship and three “last chance” national-qualifying meets.
“We’re in a really good spot and we’re really excited,” Head Track and Field Coach Andrew Towne said. “Outdoors is always a little different for us too in that the kids are done with school and that’s a huge stress removed from our kids, so you tend to do really well outdoors because of that.”
For the men, nine athletes qualified for the national meet, including a relay team and six individual athletes.
Sophomore Daniel Capek qualified in the hammer throw; junior Caleb Gatchell qualified in the 1500 meter run; both sophomore Tony Wondaal and junior Joe Newcomb qualified in the 3K steeplechase; sophomore Jared Schipper qualified in the pole vault; junior Ty Etchemendy qualified in the 400 meter hurdles.
The 4×400 relay team of Lane White (sophomore), Colby Clark (sophomore), Noah Hiser (senior), and Ty Etchemendy (junior) also qualified.
Of them men qualified, Schipper, who is ranked fifth in the pole vault, and Wondaal and Newcomb who are ranked fourth and eighth in the steeplechase respectively.
“I am excited about competing in my first individual event at nationals, but the Distance Medley Relay during indoor nationals has given me a little experience at this level, so I am feeling more ready than nervous this time around,” Wondaal said. “I would like to place near the spot I am seeded at (4th) and just want my racing to reflect my high level of training.”
On the women’s side, 10 athletes qualified for the national meet, including a relay team and seven individual athletes.
Senior Kristina Perkins and sophomore Hannah McIntyre both qualified in the 10K and 5K runs; junior Dana Newell and sophomore Rachael Tolsma qualified in the hammer throw; senior Emily Oren qualified in the 3K steeplechase, the 1500 meter run, and the 5K run; Molly Oren qualified in the 3K steeplechase; senior Corinne Zehner qualified in the 100 and 400 meter hurdles.
The 4×400 relay team of Zehner, Victoria Wichman (freshman), Sarah Benson (junior), and Allison Duber (junior) also qualified.
In additional to the Oren sister’s high ranking in the steeplechase, Emily Oren is ranked second in the 1500 and eighth in the 5K, while Perkins and McIntyre are both ranked in the top 10 of both the 5K and 10K races.
“I think I am ready to go defend my titles and hopefully pick one more up on the way,” Emily Oren said. “I am excited for how the team is looking and what we have the potential to do next weekend.”
Towne believes his teams are “solid” going into the championship meet.
“We’ve got most of the things done that we wanted to get done to this point in the year, but the reality is with how we’ve set up the program, our whole focus is on NCAAs, so whether we left some points on the track at GLIAC championships, or things of that nature, it pales into comparison what we do this next week because it’s been our whole intention all along to be a great team at NCAAs” Towne said.
This year’s NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place from May 26 through 28 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida with events being streamed on the NCAA website and live tweeted from the Hillsdale Track Twitter account.