The 2025 NCAA DII Indoor Track and Field Championships kicked off on Thursday in Indianapolis, with two Hillsdale College women's track and field athletes competing.

Junior Tara Townsend put on an impressive performance in the pole vault in her second indoor national meet appearance and first indoor nationals appearance, clearing the first three bars on her first try. The third clearance of 4.07 meters set a new personal best in the event for the junior from Beluah, Michigan, and moved her on to a very short list of Hillsdale College women's athletes to clear that height in the pole vault.

The new personal best helped Townsend, seeded 11th entering the competition, move up to a ninth place finish in the nation, just one spot shy of first-team All-American honors. It's a huge step for the junior, who will look to return to the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in the spring and contend for an All-American honor, and, next winter, potentially challenge one of Hillsdale's toughest records to break, the indoor pole vault mark of 4.25 meters set by Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Famer Kayla Caldwell in 2013. 

On the track, freshman Evyn Humphrey also made a solid NCAA DII Championships debut for the Chargers in the mile. In a tough heat that included the top five qualifying times for the final on Saturday, Humphrey showed grit, dropping to last place midway through the race but battling back and passing multiple runners in the final three laps to place sixth out of nine in her heat and 12th out of 18 runners overall, with a time of 4:49.59 that was less than a second off her personal best. While Humphrey didn't make the final, she was the only freshman in the race and showed why she has a promising distance future at Hillsdale.

Hillsdale's women's track and field team will be back in action at the national meet tomorrow, as senior Katie Sayles competes in her fourth indoor championship in the weight throw at 12:10 p.m. The Chargers also have two men's athletes set to compete on Friday, as Cass Dobrowolski looks for his first All-American honor in the high jump at 2 p.m. and Ben Haas looks for a third straight All-American honor in the weight throw at 3:30 p.m.

Photo by James Gensterblum