WAUKESHA, Wis. – The 2021 NCAA DIII Outdoor Track and Field Discus National Champion Steven Hermsen is preparing for his first-ever indoor national event. After one national competition already in the bag, Hermsen has a good feeling going into this meet "It's a different form of excitement," says Hermsen. "A lot of pressure has been taken off."
 
Hermsen qualified for the 2022 NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field National Championship in both the shot put and the weight throw events. Hermsen becomes the first male weight thrower and shot put thrower in Carroll men's indoor track and field history to qualify for the national meet. "It will be really nice for Carroll to be represented at the Indoor Track and Field Meet," says Hermsen, "I hope to show the other schools what Carroll is all about." The senior enters the event as the fourth-ranked weight thrower and the 10^th ranked shot put thrower.
 
"Steven is an amazing athlete and an amazing young man," says Head Track and Field Coach Shawn Thielitz on if Hermsen's qualifications are steppingstones for the track and field program. "He's setting the benchmark for the athletes coming in, and we want them to compete to and raise the bar for years to come."
 
In both events Hermsen qualified in, he had a group of teammates right behind him in each event, "This is an individual sport, but it takes a team effort to accomplish things," says Associate Head Coach Peter Delzer. "Having the support of his teammates in and out of practice is great…the team working together the last five months has helped contribute to his success." Max Campbell in the shot put, with Juan Ocampo and Jimmy Hinkley in the weight throw events have boosted Hermsen's competitiveness to reach the top.
 
Hermsen will compete in the weight throw on Friday, March 11 at 5:45 PM EST at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, NC. The next day, Hermsen steps back into the ring at 2:00 PM EST for the shot put. "I think competing both days will help me," says Hermsen, when asked about how he plans to stay locked in over two days. "I feel a little more comfortable in the weight throw event, so I'll be able to get my jitters out, and going to Saturday I'll be able to be more calm, cool, and collected."
 
Live results and live video of the 2022 NCAA DIII Indoor Track and Field National Championships can be found on gopios.com/mtrack.