The Hillsdale College men's track and field team made its annual trip to California for two of the biggest collegiate track and field meets in the nation over the weekend, battling against loaded fields of some of the top competitors across all divisions of collegiate track, as well as professional runners.
With gorgeous California weather and the measuring stick of great competition to work with, Hillsdale had several big improvements on the weekend, including a school record and three new or bettered NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks.
All of Hillsdale's top performances came at the Bryan Clay Invite hosted by Azusa Pacific on Friday and Saturday. Leading the way was freshman javelin thrower Thomas Flud, who shattered his own school record and took fourth in the javelin with a distance of 62.17 meters. It's the second time the gifted freshman has rewritten the record in the event this season, and his throw now ranks him 23rd at the NCAA DII level, moving closer to a potential spot at the season-ending NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in May.
Another big mover for the Chargers was junior Richie Johnston, whose finish in the 3,000m steeplechase of 9:04.99 moved him up to 20th in NCAA DII. Johnston competed at the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in the event in 2023 and seems to be picking up steam in his attempt to return.
Senior Sean Fagan also is a past outdoor national meet competitor for the Chargers, having earned All-American honors in the 400m hurdles at the 2022 edition, and he's also trending in the right direction with a 15th place finish at the Bryan Clay Invite in the event in 52.99, a time that ranks 24th among all NCAA DII times in the 400m hurdles so far.
Several other athletes had strong marks at the Bryan Clay Invite. Cass Dobrowolski followed up a title in the high jump at the Long Beach State Invite on Thursday, where he cleared 2.06 meters, with a third-place finish at the Bryan Clay, clearing 2.03 meters. Thrower Ben Haas also had a strong weekend, placing second in the hammer throw (61.21 meters) and third in the shot put (16.34m) at the Bryan Clay to build on an eighth-place finish in the hammer throw (62.54m) at the Long Beach State Invite, while teammate Matthew Belanich took fourth in the hammer throw at the Bryan Clay, with a mark of 53.49 meters.
Three Chargers men set season bests in their events over the weekend as well, as Sean Hoeft ran a 1:53.26 in the 800m run and Benu Meintjes finished the 400m dash in 48.72 at the Bryan Clay, while Connor McCormick cleared 4.71 meters in the pole vault at the Long Beach State Invite.
Hillsdale now returns home for its first ever home meet at the program's brand new outdoor track facility at Hayden Park in Hillsdale, Michigan. That meet is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday.
Photo Courtesy of Cedarville Athletics