Seven Hillsdale College men's and women's track and field athletes are in action this weekend, looking to bring home glory at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships hosted by Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas.
The Chargers are sending a heavily accomplished group to Emporia, as six of the seven qualifiers have previously earned All-American honors, including three multi-time All-Americans and two past national champions.
The strength of Hillsdale's squad heading to the championships means it could be a hardware-heavy weekend for the Chargers. You can watch the competition live
on NCAA.com, and also follow along with
live results from Emporia.
The competition kicks off for the Chargers on Thursday at 1:30 PM ET, as senior
Ben Haas and freshman
Dominic Scharer compete in the hammer throw. Haas looks to defend his national title in the hammer throw that he won in Pueblo, Colorado last spring, and add a fourth NCAA DII crown overall to cap his career. He comes in as the second seed with a school-record throw of 69.28 meters. Scharer, meanwhile, is seeded 16th but will look to move up the list and claim his second NCAA DII All-American honor after finishing third indoors in the weight throw.
At 4 PM ET on Thursday, senior
Tara Townsend competes in the women's pole vault. This is Townsend's third trip to outdoor nationals and she's a two-time All-American, looking to build off an eighth-place finish outdoors in 2025 and a seventh-place finish indoors this past winter. Townsend is seeded seventh with a best clearance this season of 4.15 meters, but she's cleared 4.20 in the past indoors and should be a contender in a tightly packed field at the top.
Thirty minutes after the start of the women's pole vault on Thursday, at 4:30 PM ET, sophomore
Amelia Lutz starts competition in the women's hammer throw. It's the first of two national meet events for Lutz, an All-American indoors this past winter in the shot put. She's seeded 15th with a top mark this season of 56.49 meters, and will look to claim another school record in the event and grab an All-American spot.
Later that evening, at 6:10 PM, senior
Ross Kuhn takes the track for the men's 1,500m run prelims. Kuhn, racing in his second outdoor championship and looking to cap his Hillsdale career with a second All-American honor after finishing eighth in 2025, will race in the second of two heats. The top four runners in each heat will advance along with the next four best times. A school record-holder for the Chargers in the event, Kuhn is seeded 17th with a top time of 3:44.04 but was also a low seed last spring before making it out of the prelim and shocking the field to earn All-American honors.
Sophomore Ally Kuzma closes out Thursday night for the Chargers at 9:50 PM ET, in the last race of the day, the 10,000m run. Kuzma is a decorated athlete for the Chargers, with a third-place finish to earn All-American honors in the 10K last spring at the 2025 Outdoor Championships, an All-American honor in cross country this past fall, and an impressive national championship victory in the indoor 5K this past winter. Her time of 33:10.83 this season was a school record, a top 10 time in NCAA DII history, and the top time in the field by nearly 28 seconds, making her the number one seed and a real contender to add a second national title to her collection.
Hillsdale has just one athlete competing on Friday, as freshman
Sofia Boonzaaijer makes her NCAA DII Outdoor Championships debut in the discus at 5:30 PM. An indoor national qualifier in the shot put, Boonzaaijer is seeded 16th with a best throw in a Hillsdale uniform this season of 49.09 meters, but has an unattached throw to her name this spring of 52.75 meters, which would rank fourth in the field. With a strong day, Boonzaaijer could contend not only for All-American honors but for a national title.
On Saturday, Haas and Lutz both return to competition in the shot put for Hillsdale. Lutz kicks off the day at 1:30 PM ET, and is one of the top contenders for the national title in the event, having placed fourth in the indoor shot put this winter and sitting as the second seed with a top throw of 16.55 meters outdoors this spring. She's one of only three athletes in the field to go over 16 meters outdoors in 2026.
Haas, meanwhile, will compete for the final time in a Chargers uniform at 4:45 PM ET, seeded sixth in the men's shot put field with a top throw of 18.35 meters. The senior will look to become an All-American in the shot put for the first time to add to a historic career in the weight and hammer throw, and is within striking distance of the top mark in the field if he has an excellent day.
If Kuhn makes it through the Thursday prelim and reaches the final in the 1,500m run, he will compete on Saturday as well, taking the track at 4:55 PM ET as Hillsdale's final competitor in 2026.
