As both a champion on the track and cross country course and an outstanding student in the classroom, Hillsdale College Class of 2020 graduate Joseph Humes left a storied legacy as a Charger.
That legacy has been recognized with the highest honor the Great Midwest Athletic Conference can bestow on an individual.
The G-MAC and Hillsdale College are pleased to announce that Humes is the 2020 male recipient of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Collegiate Achievement Award. Just one male and one female athlete from the conference's 13 member and four associate member schools are honored with the Collegiate Achievement Award annually, and Humes is the first Charger athlete in Hillsdale College's three-year association with the G-MAC to be recognized.
The Collegiate Achievement award is designed to acknowledge the most accomplished student-athlete in the league during the individual's time at a league member institution, taking into account athletic accomplishments, academic achievements, and impact on the larger university community. In all three categories, Humes excelled during his four years at Hillsdale.
A native of Maybee, Michigan, Humes arrived on the Hillsdale College campus in 2016 after graduation from Milan High School, and immediately set himself on a path to become one Hillsdale's all-time great athletes, winning GLIAC freshman of the year honors in both cross country and track and field, and the 1,500 meter run at the conference's outdoor track and field championships.
Following Hillsdale's transition to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the summer of 2017, Humes put together a stunning resume in conference events over the next three years, winning 10 individual G-MAC titles in cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, and earning 2019 G-MAC Men's Cross Country runner of the year honors, as well as athlete of the meet honors at multiple G-MAC indoor and outdoor track and field championships.
On the national stage, Humes was a two-time NCAA Division II All-American in cross country, finishing as high as 19th in the nation as a senior in 2019, and qualified for NCAA Division II National Meets in track and field three separate times in the indoor mile and outdoor 1,500 run.
He holds the Hillsdale College program record in the indoor mile (4:06.11) and three G-MAC Conference records, in the indoor 3,000 run (8:14.26) and cross country records at the 5,000 meter (15:13.44) and 8,000 meter (24:17.80) distance.
His extreme versatility across wildly varying distances marks him as a special athlete and on the short list of the greatest distance runners in Hillsdale College history – no small feat in a program that's produced numerous All-Americans over the years.
As impressive as Humes was in athletic endeavors, he was equally successful in the classroom, graduating Magna Cum Laude with a 3.61 cumulative GPA and a B.S. in Chemistry.
At Hillsdale, Humes was a member of the Sigma Zeta math honorary, the Iota Sigma Pi chemistry honorary and the American Chemical Society and one of the top students in one of Hillsdale College's most rigorous departments, all while training at the level that is required to be one of the top distance runners in the country.
Humes went above and beyond during his time in the Chemistry department, serving as the co-author on a manuscript exploring the development of 3D-printed devices for simultaneous mixing and recording of analytical reactions that was published in the respected scientific journal Analytical Chemistry, as well as a poster on the same subject that was presented at the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy in Chicago this past March.
On campus at Hillsdale, Humes set an example, serving as a team captain and a member of the Charger Track and Field Leadership Council for multiple years and also working as a teaching assistant in the Chemistry department as a senior. He is closely involved with the Immaculate Conception Church in Milan, MI on a variety of community service projects.
This fall, Humes will attend Purdue University to continue his education, pursuing a Master's Degree in Chemical Engineering, and using the remainder of his collegiate eligibility to compete for the Boilermakers in track and field.
As an athlete, a student, and, most importantly, a human being, Joseph Humes has represented the best that Hillsdale College has to offer over his career here. Hillsdale College is proud to see his hard work and achievements as a Charger recognized with such a high honor, and we wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.