Freshman Sofia Boonzaaijer placed 13th
Courtesy | Hillsdale Athletic Department
Sophomore Ally Kuzma and senior Ben Haas won national titles and set Hillsdale College records at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships March 13-14 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, leading women’s track and field to 11th place and men’s to 16th place.
Kuzma won the national title in the 5K with a time of 15:58.57, breaking the school record by 15 seconds and beating the runner-up by more than 18 seconds. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named her track athlete of the year in the Midwest region.
“Right at the end, when I was on the final stretch, somebody passed me. It turned out that it was them messing up a lap, thinking they were done when they weren’t. But I was fully convinced some people were right behind me,” Kuzma said.
Kuzma also ran the 3K in 9:33.57 and finished 13th.
Haas won men’s weight throw with a mark of 22.97 meters, beating his former school and Great Midwest Athletic Conference records. He also placed first in men’s weight throw at the 2025 NCAA DII Indoor Championships, and is the first athlete in Hillsdale College history to be NCAA DII champion in consecutive seasons for the same event. The coaches association named Haas the midwest region field athlete of 2026.
Haas also placed 15th in men’s shot put with a mark of 17.08 meters.
“This year was definitely the most fun I’ve had at a national meet, mostly just because we had such a big throwing group there,” Haas said. “This is the first time I’ve actually competed with another guy thrower at nationals. It was great to see Scharer PR and get third place in his first nationals.”
Sophomore Dominic Scharer placed third in weight throw with a mark of 21.55 meters, tying for the second-furthest weight throw mark in Hillsdale College history.
In women’s shot put, junior Amelia Lutz took fourth with a mark of 16.01 meters and received All-American honors in her first appearance at nationals.
“Luckily I had Ben, our teammate who is a three-time national champ, and he was able to give some really good insight on how to compete at nationals the day of,” Lutz said. “I kind of just left it all out there. I tried to have the most fun that I’ve ever had at a meet and trust that I’ve put the work in for it and ultimately, it led to my second-best meet of the year.”
Freshman Sofia Boonzaaijer took 13th in shot put with a throw of 14.31 meters. In weight throw, sophomore Tori Tyo and junior Olivia Newsome fell short of final qualifying marks with throws of 18.54 meters and 18.18 meters respectively.
Freshman Anna Roessner was one one-hundredth of a second short of qualifying for finals in the 60-meter dash, placing 11th with a time of 7.47.
In pole vault, senior Tara Townsend cleared 4.17 meters and placed seventh, earning All-American honors as a returning competitor in nationals.
“Being a senior and having gone a couple times has definitely relieved a lot of that stress, and now I’m coming in with a ton of young kids that go,” Townsend said. “We had a ton of redshirted sophomores this year, and Anna and Ally who are young, so I feel like I have a completely different role now. Obviously I’m there to do what I need to do, but then I also have other girls to take care of and spend time with.”
Townsend attempted to clear 4.27 meters, and although the bar stayed up, it was not on the original peg.
“Nothing has added fuel to the fire more than missing that bar but having it stay up,” Townsend said. “I had an okay day — my jumps felt great — and that was just one of those things where I guess God just had to take it away.”
Head coach Jessica Bridenthal said the nine athletes who competed were the largest group of individual qualifiers to make it to nationals since she joined the program in 2018.
“We’re really excited about the future of the program,” Bridenthal said. “This is a really young group getting good national level experience. Just making it to the meet is a big deal, and then if you can qualify for finals or become an All-American or national champion, that’s even better. But it’s a tough thing just to get there.”
The Chargers will open outdoor track and field with the Charles Austin Classic hosted by Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and the Chuck Haering Open Invitational hosted by Colorado State University in Pueblo, Colorado, March 27-28.
