It was a comfortable and successful setting for the Hillsdale College men's track team throughout this weekend's 52nd Annual Hillsdale College Gina Relays.
The team won a total of four championships, by three different athletes, at the three-day event held inside Frank "Muddy" Waters Stadium.
Leading the way was thrower Daniel Capek, who had one of the best days of his terrific Charger career. He won both the hammer and discus events on Saturday, each toss good for an NCAA provisional mark. He won the hammer with a mark of 59.15 meters, and was the top discus thrower at 50.42 meters. Capek beat out plenty of Division I competition on his way to his two victories.
The open pole vault event was held indoors on Saturday thanks to some brutal, swirling winds around the sports complex. But Jared Schipper adjusted well and ended up winning the event, clearing 4.65 meters, his top performance of the outdoor season so far.
Nathan Pando provided a highlight performance for Hillsdale during Saturday's championship day. He won the 100 meter championship race with a time of 10.74 seconds. Earlier he ran the lead leg of the second-place 4x100 relay event, helping his team to a time of 42.73 seconds. Joining Pando in the race was Levi Wyse, Ian Brown and Merrick Canada.
Senior Lane White finished strong in a pair of races, taking sixth in the open 200 (22.47 seconds) and third in the 400 championship race (49.85 seconds).
One of Friday night's most competitive races was in the 1500 championship. Sophomore Joseph Humes ran strong throughout, taking second with a time of 3:50.15, good for NCAA provisional status. Fellow distance runner Nathan Jones took fifth in Saturday's 800 meter championship race, with a time of 1:55.27.
Thrower Seth Overla was the runner-up in Saturday morning's javelin throw, hitting a mark of 45.95 meters.