Nine track athletes will represent Hillsdale College at the NCAA DII National Championship this weekend at Minnesota State University-Mankato.
The women’s team is ranked No. 8 in the nation and will be competing with seven of its members. Seniors Amanda Putt, Jennifer Shafer, and Chelsea Wackernagel will compete in multiple events.
“I have been hoping to get to a national meet and win one since last year,” Putt said. “It is great to see the rewards of all the hard work that I have put in.”
Putt will be running in both the 800-meter run and the mile-run. She is ranked No. 1 in the 800 and No. 2 in the mile. Women’s head coach Andrew Towne said that it will be interesting to see how well she does because she is favored going into the meet.
“I would love to see the DMR [distance medley relay] get All-American — especially since they are ranked fourth — and it would be huge to have two freshmen do so well at nationals,” Putt said.
Shafer will also run the 800. Her second event is the women’s DMR with Wackernagel and freshmen Amy Kerst and Shena Albaugh.
Wackernagel will also compete in the pole vault with junior Kayla Caldwell, and junior Kathy Dirksen will be in the weight throw.
“I was excited just to go because I missed outdoor nationals by three inches last year,” senior Nathan English said, “so this is helping make-up for that,”
English and sophomore Maurice Jones are the two athletes representing the men’s team. This is Jones’ first appearance at a national meet and English’s first at an indoor national meet.
English is currently ranked No. 5 in the men’s shot put and said that even with the tough competition he hopes to achieve All-American status.
“I am excited for the competition, and it is just a continuation of the same old rivalries from high school,” English said.
Jones will be running in the 400-meter run where he is currently ranked 12th. After he was told he’d be going to nationals, Jones said it took a moment for the news to sink in.
“I am one of two people to run my time on a flat track,” Jones said. “I think I will be able to achieve my goal to make finals and be an All-American.”
The competition will be tough, but Putt said that the GLIAC is one of the strongest conferences in the nation. Putt’s coaches chose to place her in only two of the four events she qualified in because they hope Putt will be able to compete fresh. Also, in the case of the DMR, it would allow another runner, Albaugh, a chance at nationals.
Most of the throwers come from the GLIAC and English said that in the shot put all the guys feed off each other
“When one guy throws big, it pushes everyone to do that much better so that they are not the last one standing,” English said.
Putt has already received honors before competing at nationals: she was named Midwest Regional Champion of the year. Towne said that he expects to see the team do well and run a couple unexpected races this weekend.
Men’s head coach Jeff Forino and assistant coach R.P. White left Tuesday to drive to Mankato. The athletes left Wednesday morning. Events will start on Friday.
Putt said that the rest of the team will be watching from a live stream on the NCAA website, cheering on their teammates.
