With just two events to go in this weekend's GMAC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Hillsdale College track team was a massive 24 points behind host and defending GMAC champion Tiffin.
But the Chargers weren't out of contention, and Hillsdale showed that on the track, staging an epic comeback to slip past the Dragons in the final standings, 149 to 147.66, and claim the Chargers' second GMAC women's indoor title in three years as a member of the conference.
Hillsdale got right back in the race with an epic performance in the 3,000 meter run, taking four of the top five spots in the race while Tiffin did not score, a 23-point swing that put the Chargers just .66 points behind the Dragon entering the meet-ending 4x400 relay.
Arena Lewis led the charge for Hillsdale with a second-place finish (10:07.81) in the 3K, with teammates Maryssa Depies (third, 10:10.57), Christina Sawyer (fourth, 10:10.77) and Gwynne Riley (fifth, 10:12.91) close behind.
That set the stage for the Chargers' 4x400 relay team of Alanna O'Leary, Judith Allison, Jillian Roney and Dakota Stamm, which ran a 3:58.04 and beat the runner-up team from Tiffin by over four seconds to move Hillsdale past the Dragons as the meet concluded.
While the last two events sealed the deal, in a meet with a margin of victory of just 1.33 points, every placer for the Hillsdale women mattered.
On top of the title in the 4x400 relay, Hillsdale had three additional individual champions.
Sawyer, one of the heroes in the 3K, repeated as GMAC champion in the 5,000 run, winning on Friday in 17:38.17 and leading another pack of four all-conference placers, including Claire McNalley (fourth, 17:59.64), Margaret Scheske (fifth, 18:00.27) and Sophia Maeda (sixth, 18:15.02).
Nikita Maines joined Sawyer as a title-winner on Friday, placing first in the 20 kg weight throw with a new personal best of 17.70 meters to win the GMAC crown. Maines also placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 13.53 meters.
Last, but not least, Kajsa Johansson won a GMAC title for the second straight year, winning the 200 dash for the Chargers in 24.76 after winning the 60 dash and taking second in the 200 in 2019. Johansson also finished third in the 60 meter dash (7.61) in 2020.
The Charger women were buoyed by a slew of additional all-conference finishes. Michaela Burkhauser took fifth in both the weight throw (16.63 m) and shot put (13.77 m) to team with Maines in the throws, and Emily Gerdin finished fourth in the triple jump (10.98 m) and sixth in the long jump (5.37 m) in the field for the Chargers.
On the track, Depies took third (5:04.45) and Arena Lewis fourth (5:05.18) in the mile as well for Hillsdale, and Riley was third (2:15.95) and teammate Calli Townsend sixth (2:18.59) in the 800 run.
Stamm finished second in the 400 dash (58.07) and fifth in the 200 dash (26.33) as well for the Chargers, Roney took sixth in the 60 hurdles (9.21) and eighth in the 60 dash (7.92), and Allison took eighth in the 60 hurdles (9.54) and eighth in the 400 dash (1:00.49).
O'Leary took third in the 400 dash (59.08) for the Charger women, and Carmen Botha finished fifth in the 60 hurdles (9.20) as well.
Finally, Hillsdale's 4,000 meter Distance Medley relay team placed fourth on Friday, finishing in 12:45.42.
The Chargers now turn their focus to the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 13 and 14, hosted at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Alabama.
With several athletes who have surpassed automatic or provisional qualifying marks this season, the Charger women should be well-represented in Birmingham two weeks from now.
There's also the spring outdoor track season to consider. The last time the Charger women captured the GMAC indoor title, in 2017-18, Hillsdale also won the outdoor track title in the spring.
Hillsdale will try to once again complete that double, building toward the GMAC Outdoor championships from April 30-May 2 at Case Western University this spring.
Photo: Shane O'Donnell