Hillsdale Earns USTFCCCA Division II Women's Program of the Year Honors

Posted: Jun 01, 2016

Courtesy of the USTFCCCA

NEW ORLEANS – With the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field season at its end, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced Wednesday, the Hillsdale College women earned its first Jerry Baltes Women's Program of the Year award for the 2016 Division II season.

Adams State's men claimed their eighth consecutive Damon Martin Program of the Year Award – one in each of the eight years of the award's existence.

The USTFCCCA Program of the Year Award is awarded annually to the most outstanding cross country/track & field programs in each of the NCAA's three divisions and for each gender. The award honors the institution that has achieved the most success in each academic year (spanning the cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field seasons) based on the institution's finish at the NCAA Championships.

In order to be eligible for the award, teams must qualify for each of the NCAA Championships. Scoring is based on the team's finish at each NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track & field, and outdoor track & field (i.e. 1st = 1 point, 2nd = 2 points, 31st = 31 points) with the lowest total score for all three championships combined determining the award recipient. Ties among schools split points for positions taken.

After finishing as the national runners-up at both the NCAA Cross Country and Indoor Track & Field Championships earlier this year, the Adams State men finished tied for fourth at this past weekend's NCAA DII Outdoor Championships for a total of nine points.

Grand Valley State, which tied ASU for fourth outdoors, checked in at second for the third consecutive year with 14 points. Alaska Anchorage posted its best-ever finish in third with 32 points, while West Texas A&M was fourth at 42½.

The Hillsdale women narrowly edged out GLIAC rival Grand Valley State – winners of six of the total eight Program of the Year awards since its inception in 2009 – with eight points to GVSU's 9½. The Chargers finished third outdoors to go along with a third-place finish in cross country and a runner-up finish indoors.

Hillsdale got a pair of national titles from high-point scorer Emily Oren in the steeplechase and the 1500. She scored 26 points total.

Grand Valley finished tied for fourth outdoors after finishing runner-up in cross country and third indoors.

Hillsdale College Named Women's Track Program of the Year!

Courtesy of Brad Montastiere, Hillsdale College Sports Information

The sum total of three seasons of excellence by the Hillsdale College Cross Country and Track & Field programs was richly rewarded Thursday morning.

Hillsdale was named the Jerry Baltes Women's Program of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. It is the highest honor that can go to an institution covering one academic year by the sport's coach's association.

Adams State University was the winner on the men's side.

The Program of the Year is determined by an institution's national finish in the fall (cross country), winter (indoor track) and spring (outdoor track). In 2015-16, the Chargers finished third, second and third, respectively at those sports' NCAA Division II championship events. That equals eight points in the Program of the Year standings.

Grand Valley State was second in this year's Program of the Year standings with 9.5 points. The Lakers had won six of the previous eight Program of the Year awards. The award is named after the Lakers' head coach, Jerry Baltes.

"I'm very proud of everyone who has contributed to our program over the last 5 years," said Chargers head coach Andrew Towne. "First and foremost, we're blessed to have great student-athletes...they are the foundation of our partnership here at Hillsdale. And, most-importantly, they are true student-athletes...they fully embrace 'Virtus Tentamine Gaudet'. From Amanda Putt and Kayla Caldwell, to Kristina Galat, Emily Oren and Corinne Zehner...their combination of academic and athletic excellence is unmatched."

Hillsdale narrowly lost out on the Program of the Year award to GVSU in 2014-15.

"We've been fortunate to have tremendous coaches...Jeff Forino, Amanda Mirochna, RP White, Samantha Kearney, Joe Lynn, Janine Kuestner, and Nate Miller have all done great work," Towne said. "Without them, we wouldn't have made the progress we've made over the last 5 years.

"And, last but not least, we're grateful for the leadership of Dr. Arnn and Don Brubacher. Dr. Arnn's vision for Hillsdale, coupled with his wisdom and integrity in guiding the college, continues to inspire our program. And, Don's steadfast support- with all facets of our program- has proven invaluable."