Sam Blaskowski is a D3 sprinter, and 1 of America’s fastest men

The USA Championships are over in 2023 and there is a new American champion in both the 100 and the 200 meter dashes. However, there was a sprinter in both of them whom nobody expected to see. Sam Blaskowski made the USA meet in both events, and that’s a big deal for any sprinter. But it is an even bigger deal when you realize who Sam Blaskowski actually is. He is an NCAA Division 3 athlete. The D3 level is famously known as the land of no athletic scholarships. So the fact that Sam is competing in D3 as one of the nation’s best sprinters is very unexpected. So how did an athlete this good end up at a school that couldn’t even offer him a dollar of track and field money?

Sam belongs in Division 1 

Sam Blaskowki always deserved to be in NCAA division 1 even if it is at the lowest levels. He was a soccer player in high school who also competed on the track. He ran 10.83 and 21.99 as a senior in the 100 meter and 200 meter dashes. Those times were good enough to win Wisconsin D1 state championships in both, and land him on the Milesplit second team national elite list. Those times may not get him recruited into the Big Ten to compete for the Wisconsin Badgers, but there are  a lot of smaller D1 programs who would have loved to add Sam to their team. Any time an athlete wins that much in high school, it’s a great sign to college coaches that you have way more potential than people give you credit for.

Nobody really knew how fast Sam Blaskowski was yet, because he hadn’t been with sprinters who could actually push him to prove it. Since the Wisconsin Badgers weren’t really that interested in recruiting him to join them in the Big Ten, the school he chose was probably the next best thing. He chose the University of Wisconsin La-Crosse in Division 3 which is a public college. But they are a track and field powerhouse at that level who finished top 5 in the nation for three years in a row. They started that run before Sam even got there, and the moment that he did, he ran a lot faster than he did in high school. He recorded 10.29 seconds to become the National Champion for Division 3 as a freshman in the 100 meter dash. But his 200 wasn’t far behind at 20.80 seconds which made the NCAA final.

Sam has already surpassed all expectations

Simply put, Sam Blaskowski was not supposed to be this good. If he was, the Wisconsin Badgers would have recruited him in the first place. As a sophomore this year, he took it up a notch, where he no longer was outrunning all of D3, but almost every sprinter in the entire nation. If you were paying attention you would have noticed Sam competing indoors, at the USATF indoor national meet. He actually made the finals of the 60 meter dash and finished fifth overall! That is a meet with pros and collegiate athletes. But Sam Blaskowski was the only sprinter representing a non-D1 school. After that performance it should come as no surprise that he won the D3 national championship in the 60 meter dash and breezed through the outdoor season. The only time he lost a race that season, after winning the 100 meter championship was in the D3 NCAA Championship final of the 200 meter dash. Ironically, that was to an international athlete who represents Cote D’ivoire.

Right now Sam Blaskwoski is entering his junior year track season. So the question still remains on how good can he actually become? He was under-recruited in high school because nobody knew how fast he could really run. But now the world has a pretty good idea. Sam Blaskowski, Mr. D3 is today, legitimately one of America’s best sprinters. He could choose to transfer, and the transfer portal would likely get a lot of hits if he did. He might even stay put in Division 3, which appears to be the plan. Cordell Tinch is proof that it really doesn’t matter what Division you are competing in, because if you’re good enough, all you need is one lane to run in at the USA championship meet. Success is when preparation meets opportunity. Sam has already gotten that far, and he is used to being underrated. But one thing is for certain, that there will be a lot more D1 athletes and even a few more pros who will lose to a non-scholarship Division 3 athlete going forward.

LOOK GOOD, FEEL GOOD, RUN GOOD.

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