Hamik To Compete At NCAA National Meet

May 17 , 2007
ABERDEEN, S.D. - Northern State junior Jake Hamik of Aberdeen will compete in the 400 Meter Hurdles at the 2007 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships May 24-26 in Charlotte, N.C. Hamik is currently ranked third in the nation in this event. He will race in the preliminaries at 7:25 p.m. on Thursday, May 24. The finals will take place on Saturday, May 26 at 7:19 p.m. and will consist of the top eight times from the prelims.

Hamik's journey to the National Championships started early in the season as he met several NCAA provisional qualifying times in the 400 m hurdles. Competing against top Division I athletes at the Drake Relays on April 28, Hamik took sixth place in the event with a time of 51.08s. This time sets a new school record and remains a personal best mark for Hamik.

In addition to the 400 m hurdles, Hamik won NSIC titles this year in the 110 m hurdles (14.58s) and the 400 m dash (48.50s). He was also a key component to Northern's 4x400 m relay team, the last event at the NSIC Championships and the deciding race in the NSIC standings. Hamik rank the anchor leg of the event and helped the team race to a second place finish (3:18.23), which pushed Northern past Bemidji State by a single point for second place in the league.

"Jake always puts the team first," says NSU head track coach Jim Fuller. "He chose to run in four events at the Conference Championships instead of focusing on just the one or two events that would be best for him. He was exhausted by the time the 4x400 (m relay finals) came around but knew how important the race was for the team's finish. The race was close and he closed out his leg with a great time and helped NSU move into second place. Now he will be able to focus on just himself at Nationals."

This is the third Track & Field National Championship appearance for Hamik, who is already a two-time All-American. Hamik finished in eighth place in the NCAA last season in the 400 m hurdles with a final time of 53.43s. He was named All-American for the second time during this year's Indoor Track & Field season, where he placed seventh in the 60 m hurdles with a final time of 8.18s. Hamik has been named the 2007 NSIC Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year and is a Regional Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year nominee. He was also named 2007
NSIC Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.