Hillsdale College Women's Track Team Finishes Second in National Championship

HILLSDALE, Mich., March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Hillsdale College congratulates the Charger women's track team, which finished as the national runner-up at the NCAA Division II championships this month. The Hillsdale team finished second overall in a field of 83 schools. Hillsdale runners brought home two national championships and two runner-up finishes in individual and team events during two days of competition in Birmingham, Ala., March 13-14.

"Hillsdale College's women's track and field and cross country teams made their mark nationally with consecutive second-place finishes in the cross country championships in December and the indoor track championships in March," said Don Brubacher, director of athletics for Hillsdale. "We are proud of the individual and team accomplishments, and excited about the possibility of bringing home a national championship very soon."

"To see the progression and journey of this program has been great," said head coach Andrew Towne. "It was really special to see all of our athletes perform so well on a national stage."

The Distance Medley Race team of senior Amy Kerst (Menominee, Mich.), junior Emily Oren (Holland, Mich.), sophomore Kate Royer (Grandville, Mich.), and junior Corinne Zehner (New Palestine, Ind.) won their race with a time of 11:25.61. Oren also took home an individual championship with her record-breaking performance in the 3000 Meter Run. Her time of 9:16.81 shattered a 30-year-old Division II championship meet record of 9:30.34. Junior Kristina Galat (Mishawaka, Ind.) finished second in the 5000 Meter Run and second in the 3000 Meter Run.

"I didn't realize I broke the record until someone told me," Oren said. "To run in that kind of atmosphere is really fun, and you feed off the energy."

NCAA Division II is a collection of 300 NCAA colleges and universities, located in 44 states, including Alaska and Hawaii in addition to the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Division II has the highest opportunity ratio in the NCAA – one championship opportunity for approximately every seven student-athletes.                                  

Hillsdale College, founded in 1844, has built a national reputation through its a classical core curriculum and its principled refusal to accept federal or state taxpayer subsidies. It also conducts an outreach effort promoting civil and religious liberty, including a free monthly speech digest, Imprimis, with a circulation of over 2.8 million subscriptions.

SOURCE Hillsdale College