With the May 23 running of the 800m, Bluffton High School graduate Hannah Chappell-Dick became Eastern Mennonite University's first participant at a national track meet since 2010. Despite not qualifying for the finals in the event, she caps a very successful sophomore season with the race.
In her heat of eight runners, Chappell-Dick was part of the fast-moving pack after the first lap but she couldn't mount a final push for a top spot, finishing with a time of 2:13.73. To land in the top eight finishers overall and head to the finals, she would have needed to break her school record time of 2:11.89. The top eight times in the national preliminaries ranged between 2:08.39 and 2:10.83. Chappell-Dick finished 21st out of 22 runners.
Eastern Mennonite Coach Jason Lewkowicz said his runner's finish was misleading because of the talented field: "The race went out really fast and Hannah went through 400m in her fastest time ever." Lewkowicz explained, "She was playing catch up the whole race and just couldn't quite get there. With that said, to make it to NCAAs after missing the indoor season with mono is pretty remarkable. This was a great learning experience and we are excited about the possibilities for next year when she is healthy all year long."
Despite recovering from foot surgery last summer and a bout with mono this winter, Chappell-Dick still earned trips to the NCAA National Championships in cross country in the fall and outdoor track this spring.
The national track meet was hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University at Selby Stadium in Delaware, Ohio.
