Both junior Adam Wier and senior Mark Miller led the Hillsdale College men's cross country team with excellent races to finish the 2020 season at the G-MAC Championship meet on Saturday at Seneca Hills Golf Club in Tiffin, OH.
For Wier, the race was a fitting capstone for a breakout season for the junior from Versailles, Kentucky. Wier went out strong and held onto a top eight position for virtually the entire race, finishing sixth overall in 25:33.7 to earn first-team All-G-MAC honors.
The junior has been a strong runner for Hillsdale for several seasons, finishing 11th and earning second-team All-G-MAC in the championship race in 2019, but he's been at his best in 2020. Wier led the Chargers in all three races the team competed in, got his first collegiate race victory at the Tiffelberg Invite on Oct. 2, and topped it all off with a strong race on Saturday.
For Miller, Saturday's run was another stellar performance in a career of them for the Charger senior from Medford, New Jersey. A first-team All-G-MAC runner for the Chargers at the 2019 G-MAC Championship, Miller battled nagging injuries for most of 2020. But he delivered when it counted on Saturday, passing three runners in the final two kilometers to finish right behind his teammate in seventh place (25:34.3) and earn first-team honors for the second straight season.
As a team, the Chargers finished fourth overall with a final score of 94, three points behind third place Cedarville. Walsh repeated as the G-MAC men's team champion, with Malone in second place.
Another Charger senior, Morgan Morrison, battled through injuries as well to take 24th (26:28.2) for Hillsdale on Saturday, and sophomore Mark Sprague finished in 29th place (26:44.5) as well.
Freshman Alex Mitchell rounded out the scoring runners for Hillsdale and finished off a solid first season with the Chargers with a 35th place finish (26:56.8).
Sophomore Isaac Waffle placed 51st (27:18.8) as well for the Chargers, and freshman Aidan Murtagh finished 69th (28:36.1).
Senior Jack Shelley also returned from an injury that's kept him out for most of the year to compete for Hillsdale, finishing in 86th place (29:41.6).
With the NCAA Division II Fall Championships having been canceled in the summer, the G-MAC Championship race marks the end of the 2020 cross country season at Hillsdale College. The Charger athletes now turn their focus to the indoor track and field season, where competition will begin on Dec. 5 at the Oiler Opener in Findlay, Ohio.
PHOTO: 2020 First Team All-G-MAC honorees Mark Miller (left) and Adam Wier pose with their medals after the race.
