The Hillsdale College men's track team kicked off the 2023 outdoor season with a solid showing on a wet and windy day in Cedarville, Ohio at the Yellow Jacket Collegiate Open on Saturday.
The Chargers won two event titles, led by a 1-2 finish in the 3,000m steeplechase. Junior Alex Mitchell claimed the title in the event with a time of 9:42.01 to get a jump start on his season, just ahead of teammate Richie Johnston, who finished second in the race in 9:44.37. Junior Isaac Waffle took seventh and was the third Charger to place in the steeplechase, in 10:19.40.
Hillsdale also won the high jump, with junior Charlie Andrews clearing 1.85 meters to take home the title. Sophomore John Baldwin placed fifth in the high jump with a clearance of .175 meters, and also placed eighth in the 110m hurdles with a time of 15.50.
The Chargers had a solid day in the distances on Saturday. Sophomore Donny McArdle took third in the 10,000m run as well for Hillsdale, finishing in 33:44.96, and teammate Caleb Oser took eighth in 35:28.36. Hillsdale also had two placers in the 400m hurdles, as freshmen Colsen Conway and Connor McCormick took third (56.44) and seventh (59.49) in their first collegiate races in the event.
In the field, recently minted indoor All-American and freshman Ben Haas took sixth in his first collegiate hammer throw, with a mark of 49.18 meters, while sophomore Alfonso Garcia placed seventh in the triple jump with a mark of 12.08 meters.
Hillsdale's next competition will be this coming Friday and Saturday, when Hillsdale attends the VertKlasse Meeting in High Point, North Carolina. Several athletes that competed this weekend for the Chargers will be in attendance, while more will make their outdoor debuts in the two-day invitational that will include several NCAA Division I schools.