Lake Michigan’s Ippel Cruises to NJCAA Division II National Championship, Leads Several with All-America Honors

A remarkable season was capped off in a fitting way as Lake Michigan College freshman, Olivia Ippel, cruised to the 2023 NJCAA Division II National Championship on Nov. 11 at John Hunt Park in Huntsville, Ala.

The national title for Ippel acted as an exclamation point on a freshman campaign for the ages. The star first-year runner from St. Joseph won every race she competed in throughout the season and cruised in a race among the best in the country at the junior college level to win by nearly 10 seconds. The outstanding effort led Ippel to USTFCCAA/NJCAA Division II Runner of the Year honors as well as being named to the NJCAA Division II All-America Team.

Ippel was followed in the Division II race by Macomb's Ava LaMilza who finished with All-America honors in sixth place overall with a time of 18:38. Oakland CC's Amy Rowan was next in seventh place at 18:42, while Jana Stiffler from Lansing CC posted a time of 18:55 to finish in 11^th place and round out the All-America honorees for Region XII Division II women's competitors.

In the Division III race, Lorain County's Madison Palmer earned All-America distinction with a fifth place finish at 20:30. Kellogg's Brenna Withers was the next Region XII Division III finisher at 21:19, a time good for 17^th place.