The Hillsdale College men's track team finished third at the 2019 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships this weekend in Findlay, Ohio. They scored 86 points, while the host, Findlay University, took second with 103, and new G-MAC member Tiffin University captured first with 183 points.
Day one brought new personal records and scoring opportunities for the Chargers.
Freshman Ben Raffin scored the Chargers' first points by earning second in pole vault. He got off to a rough start to make for a dramatic first attempt as he missed his first two vaults. But he ended his indoor season on a high note, with another personal best of 4.93 meters, which he cleared on his first try.
Senior Levi Wyse ran the prelim of the 400m dash to earn personal best with 51.06 seconds. Sophomore teammate Adam Wade finished the prelim in 50.4 seconds and took third, and in Saturday's final he finished sixth in 50.6.
In the prelim of 200m dash, senior Nathan Pando finished ninth in 22.61 seconds.
Senior Eli Poth finished his final indoor season strong as he continued his steady progression in the 5000m run. He took 10th in 15:32.92.
The men's distance medley relay rounded out Friday night to take fifth. The relay, made of junior Alex Oquist, freshman Peter Curtis, and sophomores Jack Shelley and Morgan Morrison, finished in 10:36.17.
The Chargers came back on Saturday ready to compete.
In the heptathlon, sophomore Ryan Thomsen and freshman John Baldwin finished first and second, respectively. Thomsen scored 4802 points to break the meet record and surpass the NCAA Division II provisional mark, while Baldwin racked up 4656 points.
As if seven events weren't enough for these Chargers, Thomsen went on to compete in high jump and take third, clearing 1.94 meters. Baldwin took seventh overall in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.50 seconds. He earned a new personal record on Friday's prelim with a time of 8.23. Baldwin took fourth in long jump as well, finishing with a jump of 6.75 meters.
Freshman Will Syrus also added a point in long jump for Hillsdale, finishing in eighth with a jump of 6.51 meters, surpassing he previous personal best of 6.43.
Junior Joseph Humes had a pair of first-place performances en route to earning his second G-MAC Indoor Track Athlete of the Meet. In the mile he finished in 4:15.02, and in the 3000m run he edged out a runner from Malone, finishing in 8:31.65.
Freshman Mark Miller finished right behind Humes in the mile, with time of 4:15.91, and in the 3k he took eighth in 8:46.34.
Sophomore Jack Shelley picked up a couple more points for Hillsdale in the 800. He finished seventh in 1:58.03.
Shelly bounced back after a tough 800 to finish in 11th in the 3k with a time of 8:51.80. Oquist finished in ninth, finishing in 8:47.54.
The men's 4x400m relay made of Wyse, Pando, Adam Wade, and freshman Jacob Schmidt sped around the track to earn second in an exciting and competitive race. They finished in 3:21.51.
WORDS: Calli Townsend
PHOTO: Kyle Niermann