The Hillsdale College men's cross country team begins its season tomorrow, looking to build momentum with a lineup featuring experienced veterans and new face.
The Chargers compete in the Olivet Open tomorrow to kick off the 2022 campaign, and Hillsdale found out this afternoon where it stands in the minds of G-MAC coaches, who picked the Chargers to finish sixth in 2022.
Hillsdale took fourth last season at the 2021 G-MAC Championships and will hope to outperform this season's rankings with sustained improvement over the course of the year.
The Chargers are without first team All-G-MAC honoree Adam Wier, who graduated this past spring, but return several other key competitors in 2022 under new head coach R.P. White, who took over for Andrew Towne this summer after several years as an assistant.
Two sophomores who showed promise in 2021, Alex Mitchell and Micah VanderKooi, are the top returners for Hillsdale in 2022, and will look to build off of strong track and field seasons that saw both athletes contribute meaningfully to the Chargers' best finish at an outdoor conference meet in over two decades.
Ross Kuhn, Donnie McArdle, Richie Johnston and Caleb Bigler, four more Charger sophomores, will look to take the leap and become consistent scorers for Hillsdale in 2022, while juniors Isaac Waffle and Sean Hoeft provide veteran leadership.
Junior Mark Sprague, who missed most of 2021 with an injury but was one of the team's better runners in 2020, could provide a huge boost to the team if he stays healthy in 2022.
Hillsdale also is bringing in a four-man freshman class that will get the opportunity to contribute right away for the Chargers.
Including the Olivet Open, Hillsdale will compete in six meets prior to the G-MAC Championships, including big races on Oct. 1 in Louisville against top competition nationally, and on Oct. 8 in the always tough Lucian Rosa Invite at the Parkside Course in Kenosha where the NCAA DII Midwest Regional will be contested.
Findlay hosts the G-MAC Championships on Nov. 5, and the Midwest Regional will be held on Nov. 19. The NCAA DII National Championships will be held in Seattle this year, on Dec. 2.