The Hillsdale College women's track team traveled to Youngstown, Ohio, for the Youngstown State University Invite today.
Getting things started for the Chargers was freshman Emily Gerdin who competed in long jump and triple jump. She leapt 4.99 meters in the long jump to earn 27th and 10.37 meters in the triple jump to take 14th.
Also in the field events was the throws squad, who continues to make adjustments and improvements. Leading the charge was sophomore Nikita Maines. She threw for 15.85 meters in weight throw and 13.86 in shot put. She earned ninth and sixth, in those respective events. Fellow sophomore Michaela Burkhauser earned 11th in shot put with a throw of 12.83 meters and 15.06 in weight throw to earn 17th.
On the track, sophomore Alanna O'Leary and freshman Judith Allison raced the 400m dash. O'Leary took 12th in 59.11 seconds, with Allison right behind in 18th in 1:00.17.
In the 800m run, junior Calli Townsend finished in 2:17.34 to take seventh, and freshman Dakota Stamm ran 2:20.83 to take 16th.
The 200m dash was stacked with Chargers, as junior Kajsa Johansson, freshman Jillian Roney, and junior Carmen Botha all raced. Johansson was the overall runner-up with a time of 24.99 seconds, Roney in 26.35 seconds to take 21st, and Botha finished in 27.51 seconds.
A strong pack of Chargers competed in the 3000m run too, with Hillsdale occupying six of the top 25 spots in their first event of the indoor season. Sophomore Sophia Maeda was the top collegiate finisher, taking second overall in 10:04.09. Christina Sawyer wasn;t far behind, placing seventh in 10:14.40. Arena Lewis and Gwynne Riley finished a a pair, taking 12th and 13th, respectively. Claire McNally's time of 10:31.58 was good for 17th place, and Meg Scheske rounded out the high-finishing Hillsdale group with a time of 10:46.2.
Stamm, O'Leary, Botha, and Allison teamed up to race in the 4x400m relay where they ended up placing fourth in 3:58.54.
The Chargers will return home to compete in the Hillsdale Invitational next Friday.