2026 G-MAC Outdoor Track and Field Awards

The 2026 G-MAC Women's Outdoor Track and Field champions were well represented as the conference announced its end of season awards on Thursday afternoon.

Three Chargers brought home major awards from the G-MAC, and Hillsdale put an incredible 10 athletes on the All-G-MAC first and second teams in an impressive showing.

One of the biggest honors went to head coach Jessica Bridenthal, who was named the G-MAC Women's Outdoor Track Coach of the Year just a couple of days after winning the USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honor as well. 

Bridenthal, in her first season as Hillsdale's head track and field coach, directed the Chargers' best finish at an NCAA DII Outdoor Championship since a third-place result in 2016. The Chargers took eighth with 24.5 points and were the top-finishing team from the Midwest Region at the meet, buoyed by four All-American performances. Allison Kuzma led the way with a national title in the 10K, but the Chargers also got impressive third place finishes from senior Tara Townsend in the pole vault and Amelia Lutz in the shot put, as well as a sixth-place finish from freshman phenom Sofia Boonzaaijer in the discus to score points as well.

The Chargers also took the G-MAC Outdoor Championships title on the women's side for the first time since 2022, with a score of 219.5 that represented the most points scored at a G-MAC Championship since 2016, and set three new outdoor school records during the campaign.

Chargers sophomore Allison Kuzma was named the G-MAC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after winning the same honor in the indoor track and field season earlier this winter. Kuzma, as mentioned above, was a national champion in the 10,000m run at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, and was a two-time champion at the G-MAC Championships, in both the 5,000 and 10,000m runs. Kuzma also set the Hillsdale school record with the 11th fastest time in NCAA DII history in the 10K, 33:10.83, at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season, and also ranks sixth in Hillsdale history in the outdoor 5K in 16:37.34.

Hillsdale freshman Sofia Boonzaaijer also brought home major honors, earning G-MAC Women's Freshman of the Year for the outdoor season. Boonzaaijer burst on to the scene with an impressive performance in the discus, winning the G-MAC title in the event, and setting a new Hillsdale school record and earning All-American honors with a throw of 49.44 meters and a sixth place finish at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships. Along with her school record in the discus, Boonzaaijer also ranks fifth all-time in Hillsdale history in the outdoor shot put with a throw of 14.33 meters.

Both Kuzma and Boonzaaijer were among six Hillsdale women's track and field athletes to earn first team All-G-MAC honors. Joining them on the first team was sophomore Amelia Lutz, an All-American in the shot put at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships and a two-time G-MAC champion this spring, with titles in the hammer throw (56.49 meters) and shot put (16.15 meters). Lutz currently holds the Hillsdale school record in the outdoor shot put (16.55 meters), ranks second in Hillsdale history in the discus (47.24 meters) and fifth all-time in the hammer throw (57.27 meters).

Senior Tara Townsend also earned first team All-G-MAC honors for Hillsdale, repeating as the G-MAC Champion in the pole vault. She went on to earn a third All-American honor in the pole vault at the 2026 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, clearing 4.15 meters to tie for third in the nation, and she graduates from Hillsdale as the second-best performer all-time in the outdoor pole vault with a clearance of 4.17 meters.

Sophomore Baelyn Zitzmann also earned a spot on the first team for Hillsdale with a G-MAC title in the heptathlon, winning the multi-event with a score of 4,716 points. She ranks third all-time in that event in Hillsdale college history. 

Hillsdale's final first team performer was a freshman, Lilly Grubbs, who had a standout performance in winning the javelin at her first G-MAC championships with a throw of 39.38 meters. Her personal best of 39.76 meters ranks seventh all-time in Hillsdale history.

Four athletes for the Chargers also brought home second team honors. Anna Roessner was runner-up in the 100m dash at the 2026 G-MAC Championships to cap a strong first season, finishing the year ranked second all-time in both the outdoor 100m (11.60) and 200m (23.83) dash, while also contributing to a school-record setting 4x100m team (46.01). She was joined on the second team by three fellow freshmen -- Devan Foster, who was runner-up to Grubbs in the javelin and whose top throw this season of 43.97 meters ranks second at Hillsdale; Adella Schmoll, who took second with a jump of 5.75 meters that moved her into third all-time in Chargers history in the outdoor long jump; and Taylor Brodeur, who placed second in the 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 10:59.31 that ranks seventh in the event in Hillsdale history.