Charger football players impress at 41st annual Lift-A-Thon

Perhaps it's the fact that, unlike in years past, there's football games right around the corner.

Whatever the reason, something brought out the best in the Hillsdale College football team on Thursday night as they took part in the 41st edition of their annual Lift-a-Thon fundraiser in the JAM Weight Room in the lower level of the George C. Roche Sports Complex.

The vast majority of Charger players matched or exceeded their PRs in the power clean on the night, and four of the six weight classes saw improvements in the best lift over the marks Hillsdale put up in the 40th annual Lift-a-Thon in 2020.

While Hillsdale is currently just short of last year's fundraising total, the $45,391 raised through Friday morning is still the second-highest total in Lift-a-Thon history by nearly $10,000, and a strong showing given the current hardships faced by many due to the pandemic.

"Even though it wasn't quite as much money, we had the same number of donors by the end of last night that we did for all of last year's event, and as more donations trickle in, we're going to have the most people donating that we've ever had in this event," said Nate Shreffler, Hillsdale's offensive coordinator and also the director of the Lift-a-Thon. "Depending on the year, people are going to have different levels that they can contribute at, but the fact that so many people go out of their way to contribute something, and that the number of people willing to support us keeps going up, that means everything to us and to the program.

"You can't be successful as a program if you don't have that kind of support, and the fact that more and more people want to support what we're doing is a huge boost to our kids and our staff."

The event itself was a major success. Of the 67 Charger players who participated, 19 lifted 300 pounds or more on the power clean, the Lift-a-Thon's lift of choice, and nearly 50 percent cleaned 270 or more.

The best lift of the day came from a true freshman -- linebacker Riley Tolsma, who cleaned 355 pounds, the best lift in a Lift-a-Thon since All-American offensive lineman Drew Callahan cleaned 360 pounds as a senior in 2018. Tolsma has an impressive pedigree -- his older sister, Rachael, was an All-American thrower for the Hillsdale College track and field program and also a standout in the weight room during her four years here.

Tolsma wasn't alone in setting impressive marks. Junior linebacker Jonathan Burton cleaned 340 pounds to win the 201-225 pound weight class, an increase of 15 pounds on the top mark from 2020 in that weight class, and junior tight end Joey Brenner cleaned 335 pounds to win the 251-275 pound weight class with a lift that was also 15 pounds better than the previous year's winner.

Sophomore wide receiver Ben Gendics won the 185 pound and under weight class with a clean of 305 pounds, sophomore tailback Michael Herzog won the 186-200 pound weight class with a clean of 315 pounds, and junior offensive lineman Jared Clark won the 276 pound and up weight class with a clean of 325 pounds as well for the Chargers.

While the event has ended, donations are still being collected on the program's fundraising webpage through the 13th, so there's still time to support the Charger football program. If you missed the Lift-a-Thon live, you can also watch the entire event on demand on the Great Midwest Digital Network.

The Lift-a-Thon began in 1980 under head coach Dick Lowry, intended both as a fundraiser for the Hillsdale College football program, and as a way to build commitment in the weight room and camaraderie among teammates in the long winter months between seasons.

The event has been a smashing success and served its purpose every year for four decades, surviving two separate regime changes, first when Dave Dye took over in 1997, and then again in 2002 when current head coach Keith Otterbein took charge of the program.

Usually, the Lift-a-Thon has been held with the previous season in the rearview mirror, and as a way to kick start the program's ramp-up towards spring practice.

This season is the first time in Lift-a-Thon history that it serves as the kick-off for a full season of games. The covid-19 pandemic postponed the fall football schedule to the spring, and the Chargers began official practice today to prepare to kick off the season a month from now, on March 6, against Saginaw Valley State at 2 p.m.

"The Lift-a-Thon still serves a similar purpose for us, in that it's the culmination of our winter preparation in the weight room, and it closes one phase of the year for our program and opens another phase," Shreffler said. "This year, it just happens to be kicking off a different phase than usual.

"It's still an opportunity to for our players to show the work they've put in and how ready they are for what's next, and they took full advantage of that tonight."

You can see Hillsdale's full spring schedule here. The new spring season presents a variety of challenges that are unique to this campaign, but the Chargers are hungry to get back into action and ready to meet those challenges.

"The culture of our program is very much rooted in taking care of what's in front of you and keeping your focus on the things you can control," Shreffler said. "We had no control over the course of the pandemic, or what the weather's going to be in February and March, or anything related to that.

"All we could do is keep working hard and putting ourselves in a good position in case the opportunity came, and that's exactly what our guys did. We feel confident in this group and we're excited to get the chance to play in March."

2021 Liftathon Winners:

Photo taken by Gwen Buchhop. From left, Ben Gendics, Michael Herzog, Joey Brenner, Riley Tolsma, Jared Clark, Jonathan Burton