The Hillsdale College men's track and field team wrapped up a solid showing at the 2023 G-MAC Indoor Championships on Saturday in Ashland with two athletes achieving NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks for the first time.
In the 400 meter dash, sophomore Maliq Brock ran a 48.41 to finish fourth in a strong field, setting a new personal record in the event by nearly a full second and breaking through the provisional qualifying barrier for the first time. He was joined by fellow sophomore Richie Johnston in the mile, as Johnston took fourth as well with a big PR of 4:08.58 to achieve a provisional qualifying mark in that event for the first time.
There were several other solid performances on the track for the Chargers to help build on a G-MAC championship in the weight throw by Ben Haas the night before. Freshman Seth Jankowski ran a strong race in the 800m run to finish fifth in a personal best time of 1:52.97, and in the 60m hurdles, freshman Colsen Conway and sophomore Cass Dobrowolski parlayed personal best times in the prelims into scoring finishes as well, with Conway taking fifth in the final in 8.42, and Dobrowolski placing sixth in 8.62.
Hillsdale also got a season-best performance from junior John Baldwin in the heptathlon, as Baldwin finished strong in the final three events on Saturday and used a runner-up finish in the 60m hurdles to catapult himself from eighth into fifth with a final point total of 4,677.
The Chargers closed out the meet with a solid 4x400m relay, as Hillsdale's team of Joseph Ritzer, Benu Meintjes, Conway and Brock finished fifth in 3:19.88.
As a team, Hillsdale finished sixth overall in the meet with 49 points, a solid finish in a strong track and field conference that added another extremely competitive team in Northwood this season.
The Chargers finish out the indoor track and field season in two weeks at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Hillsdale will be represented by Haas, who has the third best mark in the weight throw in the entirety of NCAA DII after winning a conference title in the event on Friday night.