EUGENE, Ore. – Logan Blomquist captured the 2022 NCAA Hammer Throw National Championship Wednesday at Hayward Field for Southeast Missouri track & field's first-ever NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships title in program history. 
 
Blomquist, the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Male Field Athlete of the Year and Hammer Throw Champion, won the National Championship with a career-best mark of 240-8 (73.37m) in the final round Wednesday to etch his name in the SEMO record books. 
 
The distance also improved upon his Southeast Missouri program-record hammer throw. 
 
"I came into the [2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships] thinking that I was capable of throwing far," Blomquist said after securing the National Championship. "I was nervous, knowing it came down to one final throw and that was it. I've worked so hard for so long for this moment. It was anybody's ballgame coming in [to the 2022 NCAA Championships]."
 
Blomquist was sixth overall through three rounds of competition before climbing up the leaderboard in the ensuing final three rounds.
 
Blomquist, a Pleasant Hill, Missouri, native, donned white Under Armour sunglasses for the finals as the sun peaked out for rounds four, five and six, Wednesday. 
 
He opened up his second career NCAA National Championship with a feat of 231-5 (70.54m) on his first attempt and concluded finals qualifying with 231-4 (70.51m) on try #3.
 
In the finals, Blomquist moved up to third on the leaderboard with a heave of 235-1 (71.66) in the fourth round.
 
Blomquist then tied Minnesota's Kostas Zaltos for the lead with 237-10 (72.51m) on the fifth try before being surpassed by Penn State's Tyler Merkley, the 2022 NCAA East Preliminary Hammer Throw Champion.

Zaltos took third overall Wednesday at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Merkley registered a throw of 238-6 (72.70m) in the fifth round, after qualifying for the finals second overall Wednesday. He finished second on the podium Wednesday. 
 
Sitting tied for third in the standings, Blomquist then unleashed his personal-best and improved on his SEMO program record in the sixth and final round. Blomquist, the 2022 NCAA Hammer Throw leader, notched a distance of 240-8 (73.37m) to secure the title and earn SEMO's first-ever NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field title.  
 
Blomquist's previous career best was 240-1 (73.18) set at the Memphis Tiger Invitational (April 29-30) earlier in 2022.  
 
Wednesday marked Blomquist's second career NCAA National Championship appearance after advancing through the NCAA West Preliminary in 2019 and finishing 24th overall in the hammer competition at the 2019 Championships. 
 
Blomquist recorded a distance of 212-2 (64.66m) in his second attempt to capture the ninth qualifying spot at the 2019 NCAA West Preliminary held in Sacramento, California. He then posted a mark of 198-4 (60.45, 24th) in his first career NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National meet in Austin, Texas.
 
"2019, I showed up [at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships] and I just performed very poorly," Blomquist said, reflecting on his experience at the 2019 NCAA Championship. "I took a lot away from that with dieting and everything else. I've worked on my technique for two years really hard and I'm super thankful that I was able to take away and get it done."
 
Blomquist was also named a 2022 First-Team All-American for his National Championship performance Wednesday.
 
SEMO last had an All-American in 2018 when Jonno Engelking claimed Second-Team All-America honors with a 10th place finish in the javelin at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Engelking, the 2018 OVC Male Co-Field Athlete of the Year and Javelin Champion, recorded a throw of 223-4 (68.07m) in the first flight at the National Championships.
 
With Blomquist's 2022 NCAA Hammer Throw National Championship, the SEMO men, the 2022 OVC Indoor and Outdoor Champions, finished a program-best tied for 30th overall at the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 10 points. 

Florida swept the 2022 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, winning on the men's side with 54 points and taking first with 74 for the Gators women.