NCAA CHAMPION! UOlivet’s Fremeau captures title in hammer throw
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The University of Olivet junior Owen Fremeau is an NCAA champion! He captured the national title in the hammer throw today at the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Fremeau is only the second student-athlete in school history to win an NCAA title. The other was Dan Pantaleo who won the 142-pound title at the 1984 NCAA DIII Wrestling Championships.
Fremeau unleashed a throw of 195 feet and 10 inches on his first attempt before heaving the hammer 209 feet and 10 inches on his third attempt. He improved his mark on his fourth attempt with a UOlivet record mark of 209 feet and 5 inches, which was enough to hold off the runner-up finisher by three feet and five inches.
"Owen had an incredible performance today," said Olivet head coach Karen Lutzke. "He saved his best event for last after competing in the shot and discus and earning All-American honors in both. The first national champ and the first three-time All American in one meet is a huge accomplishment for the track and field program. The work he has put in the last three years really paid off this year."
"I knew Owen had the potential to do something big today," said Olivet throws coach Daustin Martin. "Being a national champion was in the back of our heads as a possibility, but we just tried to take it one throw at a time. When the rain came right before round one, I got a little uneasy but after his first throw I knew Owen was ready. To respond with multiple PRs in a wet circle to win the national title is nothing short of a story book ending of a week."
Fremeau ends his junior season as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in UOlivet history. He is a seven-time NCAA All-American (First Team six times and Second Team once) and five-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) First Team selection. Fremeau has won 10 individual events at the MIAA Championships (four times indoors and six times outdoors). He was the only student-athlete to compete in five field events at the NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Championships this year, earning All-American honors in all five events.
Interview with Owen Fremeau
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— The University of Olivet Athletics (@OlivetAthletics) May 23, 2026
Owen Fremeau claims the NCAA Outdoor Championship in the hammer throw and celebrates where champions belong — on the top step of the podium.#GoCOMETS | #UONation | #d3tf | @UOlivetXCTF pic.twitter.com/DaD3YGnuIh