With a dramatic, title-winning finish at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at the end of February, the Hillsdale College women's track team left quite an impression on the rest of the conference.
A month later, they're also taking home their fair share of awards and honors from that magical two-day performance.
The Chargers claimed their second indoor conference crown in three seasons on Feb. 29 in Tiffin, OH, and, as the coach responsible for assembling this Hillsdale squad and directing them to victory, head coach Andrew Towne also claimed G-MAC Coach of the Year honors for the second time in three years.
Along with the two indoor Coach of the Year honors, Towne also has won a Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year honor in 2018 from the G-MAC, as well as two Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year honors in 2017 and 2019, making him one of the most decorated coaches in Hillsdale's three-year tenure in the G-MAC.
At the G-MAC meet, Hillsdale trailed Tiffin by 24 points with just two events remaining, but dominated the 3,000 meter run and ran away with the 4x400 relay title to overtake the Dragons and pull off an epic comeback.
All four members of that 4x400 squad (3:58.04) -- Judith Allison, Alanna O'Leary, Jillian Roney and Dakota Stamm -- all earned first team All-G-MAC honors for their performance, as did Christina Sawyer, who won the G-MAC title in the 5,000 run (17:38.17) and was one of four Hillsdale runners to place in the 3,000 (10:10.77) and make the comeback possible.
The Chargers' two national meet qualifiers also earned All-G-MAC honors. Kajsa Johansson, a conference champion and national qualifier in the 200 dash (24.76) and a third-place finisher in the 60 dash (7.61), was honored, as was Nikita Maines, a national qualifier in the shot put who won the weight throw title (17.70) for Hillsdale at the G-MAC final.
The remainder of Hillsdale's all-conference slots went to the three athletes who joined Sawyer in taking four of the top five spots in the 3,000 run.
Arena Lewis, the runner-up in that race (10:07.81) and a placer in the mile (5:05.18), was named to the All-G-MAC second team, and Maryssa Depies (third in both the 3,000 and the mile) and Gwynne Riley (third in the 800 run and placer in the 3,000) both made the third team for Hillsdale College.
While the Chargers won't get a chance to compete in the spring for the G-MAC outdoor track and field crown due to the shutdown in place to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the slew of conference awards from the winter is a reminder of the impressive things the Hillsdale women's track and field team was able to achieve in 2019-20, and a great sign for Hillsdale's future in 2020-21, with many of these athletes returning to compete for the Chargers next year.
Photo: Shane O'Donnell