Ferris State's Cody Stilwell Garners All-America Honors At D2 National Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University junior standout thrower Cody Stilwell (Cadillac) earned All-America honors for the first time in his collegiate career as he placed fifth overall in the hammer throw at the 2018 NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday (May 24) in Charlotte, N.C.

Stilwell, who is FSU's lone representative at the championships, claimed All-America accolades with throw of 61.88 meters on his third attempt. The national championships took place at the Irwin Belk Complex and are being hosted by Johnson C. Smith University.

With his All-America performance, Stilwell becomes only the second Bulldog male student-athlete to earn All-America accolades in track and field since 2010, but it represents the second year in a row in which the squad has had an All-American. His fifth-place finish is the higehst finish by a Bulldog performer in men's track since Joe Mielke placed fourth in the high jump at the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championships and it is the best performance in a men's outdoor event since Todd Schember's runner-up effort in the javelin in 1990.

The event was won by Walsh University's Marcus Myers with a top throw of 67.05 meters. Stilwell was one of three GLIAc throwers to finish in the top five overall with the Ashland combination of Alex Hill and Nick Zak placing third and fourth, respectively, in a highly-competitive field.

Overall, his finish represents the eighth time in which a Bulldog male hammer thrower has earned All-America honors in school history.

The junior standout was one of 20 throwers picked to compete in the hammer at the national championships and had held the seventh-best qualifying mark this year entering the meet. The national meet entries were announced by the NCAA Division II Track and Field Committee.

A total of 754 participants, 377 men and 377 women, are competing in the D2 National Championships. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

This season, Stilwell was chosen as an All-Midwest Region selection by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA). He placed third overall in the hammer throw (59.57m) at the 2018 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Outdoor Championships held May 3-4 in Ashland, Ohio.

During the outdoor campaign this year, Stilwell won the hammer throw and set a new school record with a performance of 62.58 meters in the hammer at the Al Owens Classic hosted by Grand Valley State in Allendale on April 20-21.

Stilwell previously competed this year in the 2018 NCAA D2 Indoor National Championships on March 9-10 in Pittsburg, Kan. He finished 11th overall in the men's weight throw on Friday in day one action with a performance of 19.27 meters for the Bulldogs.