NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championship Home Page
Two of the Hillsdale College Men's track team's most accomplished athletes will finish their 2019-20 Indoor Track and Field seasons on the biggest stage in Division II.
Senior distance runner Joseph Humes and junior heptatlete Ryan Thomsen were selected as provisional qualifiers to compete at the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championships for indoor track and field on Tuesday.
The meet is scheduled for March 13 and 14 at the Birmingham Sportsplex in Birmingham, AL.
Humes, already a two-time All-American for the Chargers in cross country, is seeded 12th out of 16 qualifiers in the mile thanks to a time of 4:08.26 that the senior ran at the GVSU Big Meet Invite on Friday, Feb. 14.
This is Humes' second trip to the D2 Indoor national meet, as he qualified in the mile as a sophomore in March of 2018, finishing 10th in his preliminary heat in a time of 4:10.83.
Since then, Humes has gone on to become one of the most decorated distance runners in Charger history, not only standing out on the cross country course but also setting the Hillsdale indoor record in the mile (4:06.11) and winning seven GMAC Conference Championships over the course of his cross country and track and field careers.
He'll be joined in Birmingham by Thomsen, who broke the Hillsdale indoor record in the heptathlon as a freshman, then shattered that mark at the GMAC Indoor Championships this past weekend while bringing home his second straight conference title in the event.
Thomsen's mark of 5,157 on Friday and Saturday was 156 points better than his previous record-setting effort, and just enough for him to earn the 16th and final qualifying spot in the hepthatlon at the national meet. It's Thomsen's first-ever national championship qualification at the Division II level.
Both athletes, along with sophomore teammate John Baldwin, also were honored this week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Associaton with All-Region honors for their achievements in the 2019-20 indoor season.
While Baldwin fell just short of joining his teammates at the national meet, he had a season to remember himself, breaking his own Charger indoor record in the 60 meter hurdles (8.15) and taking second behind Thomsen in the heptathlon to earn two All-GMAC honors.
Thomsen and his fellow heptathletes will kick off the meet at noon on Friday, March 13 in Birmingham, competing in four events on Friday and three on Saturday, concluding with the 1,000 meter run at approximately 4:45 p.m.
Humes competes in the mile prelims at approximately 5:40 p.m. on Friday, looking for a spot in the finals on Saturday at approximately 6:20 p.m. and a chance to compete for a national title and All-American honors.
Charger track fans can watch a live stream of the event and see Thomsen and Humes compete at NCAA.com/video.
Photo: Shane O'Donnell