Hillsdale College sophomore Allison Kuzma, a 2024 Zeeland East High School graduate, won the national championship in the women’s 5,000 meters at the NCAA Division II indoor track and field finals last Friday. Kuzma is pictured with her Hillsdale track coach, R.P. White.
Photo credit Ashley Van Hoose, Hillsdale College
Photo credit Ashley Van Hoose, Hillsdale College
By Greg Chandler
Zeeland Record
In just her second year of running at the collegiate level, 2024 Zeeland East High School graduate Allison Kuzma is now a national champion.
Kuzma, a sophomore at Hillsdale College, won the women’s 5,000 meters last Friday at the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships in Virginia Beach, Va. She won the race by nearly 19 seconds in a time of 15 minutes, 58.57 seconds, breaking the school record in the event by more than 15 seconds.
Seeded seventh going into the race, Kuzma stayed toward the back of the field at first, then started working her way up front. She moved from 15th to ninth place at the one-kilometer mark, then eventually up to second. The only runner ahead of her was Tristian Spence of Adams State (Colo.) University, who won the 5,000 meters at last spring’s NCAA DII outdoor track championships and was the individual national championship in DII cross country last fall.
“I thought (Spence) was going to blast off, and I would just try to hang on and hopefully maybe (come in) second or third,” Kuzma said in an interview after the race. “When I connected, it felt good and I felt like I could keep pushing. From five (laps) to go, I just decided to go for it. I could hear coach egging me on and (telling me) to give it all I got. I went as fast as I can and tried just to keep going.”
Kuzma blew past Spence and pulled away to win her national championship in stunning fashion.
“I didn’t really realize how much of a gap I had. Honestly, I thought some people were on my tail and I was expecting to get passed in the last little bit. That gave me a little bit of a boost,” Kuzma said.
Kuzma’s victory was as moving for her coaches as it was for her, she said.
“I could tell how emotionally moved they were, which made me feel extra grateful to be part of the (Hillsdale) program. It’s been great,” she said.
Grand Valley State University redshirt senior Abby VanderKooi finished eighth in the 5,000 in 16:24.01.
Kuzma also ran in the women’s 3,000 meters at the NCAA championships on Saturday, finishing 13th in 9:33.57.
Kuzma earned All-American honors last spring as a freshman at Hillsdale, finishing third in the women’s 10,000 meters at the NCAA DII outdoor national championships, and also earned All-American honors in cross country last fall.
At Zeeland East, Kuzma was a three-time state qualifier and two-time All-State runner in cross country, and qualified for the state track and field finals six times, earning All-State honors five times. She finished sixth at the Division 2 state cross country finals in 2022, and was part of the Chix 4x800 relay team that finished second at the D2 state track and field finals in 2023.
Kuzma wasn’t the only athlete with ties to Zeeland who earned All-American honors at the NCAA meet.
Shelby Ulven, a GVSU redshirt senior who graduated from Zeeland East in 2021, finished fifth in the women’s weight throw with a toss of 19.83 meters to earn All-American honors for the second year in a row. Ulven finished seventh in the weight throw at last year’s NCAA indoor championships. She also finished second last spring in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Paige Westra, a redshirt junior at GVSU who graduated from East in 2022, finished seventh in the shot put with a toss of 15.52 meters.
Also competing at nationals was Zeeland West graduate Andrew Kraft, a GVSU sophomore who was in the men’s heptathlon.
Grand Valley finished second overall at the NCAA men’s indoor track championships with 51 points, behind national champion Pittsburg State (Kan.). The Lakers took sixth in the women’s competition with 24.5 points, with Pittsburg State winning the national title.
Zeeland Record
In just her second year of running at the collegiate level, 2024 Zeeland East High School graduate Allison Kuzma is now a national champion.
Kuzma, a sophomore at Hillsdale College, won the women’s 5,000 meters last Friday at the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships in Virginia Beach, Va. She won the race by nearly 19 seconds in a time of 15 minutes, 58.57 seconds, breaking the school record in the event by more than 15 seconds.
Seeded seventh going into the race, Kuzma stayed toward the back of the field at first, then started working her way up front. She moved from 15th to ninth place at the one-kilometer mark, then eventually up to second. The only runner ahead of her was Tristian Spence of Adams State (Colo.) University, who won the 5,000 meters at last spring’s NCAA DII outdoor track championships and was the individual national championship in DII cross country last fall.
“I thought (Spence) was going to blast off, and I would just try to hang on and hopefully maybe (come in) second or third,” Kuzma said in an interview after the race. “When I connected, it felt good and I felt like I could keep pushing. From five (laps) to go, I just decided to go for it. I could hear coach egging me on and (telling me) to give it all I got. I went as fast as I can and tried just to keep going.”
Kuzma blew past Spence and pulled away to win her national championship in stunning fashion.
“I didn’t really realize how much of a gap I had. Honestly, I thought some people were on my tail and I was expecting to get passed in the last little bit. That gave me a little bit of a boost,” Kuzma said.
Kuzma’s victory was as moving for her coaches as it was for her, she said.
“I could tell how emotionally moved they were, which made me feel extra grateful to be part of the (Hillsdale) program. It’s been great,” she said.
Grand Valley State University redshirt senior Abby VanderKooi finished eighth in the 5,000 in 16:24.01.
Kuzma also ran in the women’s 3,000 meters at the NCAA championships on Saturday, finishing 13th in 9:33.57.
Kuzma earned All-American honors last spring as a freshman at Hillsdale, finishing third in the women’s 10,000 meters at the NCAA DII outdoor national championships, and also earned All-American honors in cross country last fall.
At Zeeland East, Kuzma was a three-time state qualifier and two-time All-State runner in cross country, and qualified for the state track and field finals six times, earning All-State honors five times. She finished sixth at the Division 2 state cross country finals in 2022, and was part of the Chix 4x800 relay team that finished second at the D2 state track and field finals in 2023.
Kuzma wasn’t the only athlete with ties to Zeeland who earned All-American honors at the NCAA meet.
Shelby Ulven, a GVSU redshirt senior who graduated from Zeeland East in 2021, finished fifth in the women’s weight throw with a toss of 19.83 meters to earn All-American honors for the second year in a row. Ulven finished seventh in the weight throw at last year’s NCAA indoor championships. She also finished second last spring in the women’s hammer throw at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
Paige Westra, a redshirt junior at GVSU who graduated from East in 2022, finished seventh in the shot put with a toss of 15.52 meters.
Also competing at nationals was Zeeland West graduate Andrew Kraft, a GVSU sophomore who was in the men’s heptathlon.
Grand Valley finished second overall at the NCAA men’s indoor track championships with 51 points, behind national champion Pittsburg State (Kan.). The Lakers took sixth in the women’s competition with 24.5 points, with Pittsburg State winning the national title.
