The Hillsdale College women's track and field team impressed against tough competition in their first meet back from winter break on Friday night.
Hosting fellow G-MAC powerhouses Findlay and Ashland in a tri-meet in the Biermann Center, the Chargers edged their way to a narrow victory in an early preview of the G-MAC Championships at the end of February, with 106 points to the Oilers' 105.5 and Ashland's 100.
Six first place finishes were critical for the Chargers in the meet. Hillsdale dominated the distance events, with returning NCAA DII Outdoor National meet qualifier Gwynne Riley taking first in the mile run for the Chargers in 5:07.86, and Natalie Martinson (10:48.25) and Kayla Loescher (11:22.90) posting a 1-2 finish in the 3,000m run. The Chargers also took first and fourth in the 800m run, with Reese Dragovich winning in 2:17.75 and Kaitlyn Rust taking fourth in 2:33.11.
Hillsdale also had a strong showing in the hurdles led by junior Shura Ermakov, who won the 400 meter hurdles in 1:05.21 and took second in the 60m hurdles in 9.21, just ahead of teammate Louisa Klaserner in fourth in 9.41.
Also on the track, Dakota Stamm finished second in the 400m dash (59.59), Eleanor Minning took fourth in the 60m dash (7.92) and Hillsdale's team of Francesca Federici, Anna Roberts, Anna Lamoreaux and Neva Polo took second in the 4x400m relay (4:14.65).
The Chargers also relied on a strong performance in the field. Sophomore Reagan Dahlquist cleared 1.57 meters to win the high jump for the Chargers, with freshman Gabrielle Johansson finishing third with a clearance of 1.52 meters as well for Hillsdale, and Emily Gerdin won the triple jump with a distance of 11.07 meters, with Grace Chen taking third with 10.26 meters.
Hillsdale's throws crew also continued its strong start to the season with several notable results. Sophomore Katie Sayles improved on her previous NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark in the weight throw with a distance of 18.34 meters, now the ninth-best mark in the nation at the DII level, to finish runner-up, while sophomore Averi Parker got her first provisional mark in the weight throw with a distance of 17.65 meters to finish fourth.
In shot put, Nikita Manes took fourth with a distance of 13.85 meters, good for a provisional mark in that event, and Parker, a 2022 indoor All-American in the event put up a throw of 13.71 to take fifth and achieve a provisional mark as well.
Hillsdale also had multiple placers in the pole vault, with Morgan Iverson and Kaylee Jackson each clearing 3.53 meters to finish third and fourth respectively.
It's a solid first showing of 2023 for the Chargers, who will be back in action next Friday for the Hillsdale Winter Classic against teams from the tri-state area, with events beginning at 3 p.m.