The 2022-23 season was another successful one for the Hillsdale College men's and women's track and field teams, both on the track and in the classroom.
A total of six Hillsdale College track and field athletes were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District teams for NCAA Division II, announced on Wednesday afternoon -- Reagan Dahlquist, Reese Dragovich, Nicole Marshall, Margaret Scheske, Liz Wamsley and Mark Sprague. In order to be considered for CSC Academic All-District honors, an athlete must be either a starter or a meaningful contributor, and carry a 3.5 or better cumulative GPA. All Academic All-District honorees are entered into consideration to receive prestigious Academic All-American honors from CSC later in May, as voted on and selected by institution SIDs at the NCAA DII level.
Dahlquist, a sophomore, has been one of the top high jumpers in the Midwest at the NCAA DII level in her two years competing for the Chargers, earning NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks in both 2022 and 2023, winning the 2023 G-MAC Outdoor Championships in the event and competing in the 2023 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, placing 19th in the nation at the event. She has a lifetime best clearance of 1.70 meters (5 feet, 7 inches) in the high jump. She's also been a strong student at Hillsdale, earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and making the dean's list at Hillsdale every semester so far.
Also a sophomore, Dragovich has been a difference-maker for the Chargers in the mid-distance races, placing in the top three in the 800m run in every G-MAC Championship event she's competed in, with two runner-up finishes. She's also made a big impact on relays for the Chargers, running legs on a 4x400m relay team that set the indoor school record for the Chargers at 3:46.45 and made the national meet in 2023, while also running on a national meet-qualifying indoor Distance Medley relay and an outdoor 4x400m relay in 2023. As a student, Dragovich has excelled at Hillsdale, earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors in 2022, and recieving the Grace Nichols Outstanding Intermediate Prize from the Hillsdale College Spanish Department for the 2022-23 academic year while making the dean's list every semester.
The third member of a strong sophomore class for Hillsdale, Marshall is also a mid-distance standout for the Chargers, with five top eight finishes in four G-MAC Championship meets, including back-to-back fifth place finishes in the 800m run at the 2022 and 2023 G-MAC Outdoor Championships. Marshall is also an impressive student, pursuing a Biochemistry degree at Hillsdale, with research fellowships at both the Jessica A. Brown Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame in the summer of 2022 and the prestigious Mayo Clinic in 2023, as well as making the dean's list every semester at Hillsdale so far.
Scheske, a graduating senior for Hillsdale, has had a decorated career with the Chargers, qualifying for three NCAA DII Cross Country Championships races and four NCAA DII Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She's a three-time competitor in the outdoor 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA DII Championships, earning second-team All-American honors in 2021, and also earned second-team All-American honors in the mile at the 2023 NCAA DII Indoor Championships. A 10-time G-MAC placer and two-time conference champion, Scheske also has stood out as a student for the Chargers, serving as secretary of the Hillsdale champter of the Phi Sigma Tau philopsohy honorary, earning membership in both the Tau Alpha Kappa religion honorary and the Collegiate Scholars program, and playing the flute for the Hillsdale College jazz department while earning two USTFCCCA All-Academic honors.
Wamsley, a junior, is one of Hillsdale's most decorated current athletes, having just completed a year that saw her earn All-American honors in cross country with a 22nd place finish at the NCAA DII Cross Country Championships in December, in indoor track and field with a seventh-place finish in the 5,000m run at Virginia Beach in March, and outdoors with an eighth-place finish in the 10,000m run at Pueblo, Colorado in May. The junior is a three-time national meet qualifier, a 10-time time G-MAC placer and the G-MAC Champion in the indoor 3,000m run in 2023, and is also a strong student, with two USTFCCCA All-Academic honors to her name.
Sprague, a senior, has been a leader for the Hillsdale College men's track and field team throughout his career, earning first-team All-G-MAC honors in cross country in 2022 and recording the program's fastest times in the 5,000m and 10,000m runs in 2023. He's also excelled in the classroom for the Chargers, earning the 2023 Hillsdale College Biology Department Research Award for his LAUREATES-funded project and earning enrollment into the medical school at Wayne State University following graduation.
As All-District honorees, all six athletes are under consideration for CSC Academic All-American honors. A team of All-Americans will be chosen from the All-District winners and the selections will be announced on June 28 and 29.