This is the final of four profiles about the 2026 inductees of the EMU Athletic Hall of Honor. For more information about the Hall of Honor and a full list of inductees, visit emuroyals.com/honors/hall-of-honor.
A last-minute road trip led Hannah Chappell-Dick ’16 to EMU, where she became one of the most accomplished distance runners in program history.
A biology major with minors in exercise science and honors, Chappell-Dick wasn’t initially focused on Mennonite colleges. She joined a friend traveling to Honors Weekend and quickly found herself drawn to EMU.
“I absolutely loved it,” she said. “I stayed overnight in the dorms, and we stayed up really late talking about ideas. It just felt like the people were really invested in intellectual curiosity.”
The Bluffton, Ohio, native made an immediate mark on EMU athletics. In cross-country, she earned First Team All-ODAC honors four times, was a two-time All-South/Southeast Region selection, qualified twice for the NCAA National Championships, and earned All-American honors in 2015.
Her track and field career was even more decorated. Chappell-Dick won 11 ODAC championships, earned 12 First Team All-ODAC honors, and qualified for five NCAA National Championships. She became a four-time All-American in the indoor mile and outdoor 1500 meters, received two Co-EMU Female Athlete of the Year awards and the Co-EMU Female President’s Award, and was named a top-30 honoree for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award after winning the ODAC’s Marjorie Berkley Award in 2016.
While she graduated holding 10 school records, Chappell-Dick says EMU’s greatest influence was its emphasis on global citizenship.
“EMU gave me the tools to see people who are different from me as people first.”
She is now head cross-country coach and assistant men’s and women’s track and field coach at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Chappell-Dick will be honored at a ceremony at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9, during Homecoming 2026. For a full schedule of Homecoming events and activities, visit emu.edu/homecoming.
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