It was two years ago, at the 2019 GVSU Holiday Open, that Hillsdale College junior Nikita Maines first broke the Charger women's track and field team's indoor shot put record.
Only fitting, then, that the next chapter in Maines' record-breaking journey would come at the same meet, two years later.
Maines tied for the longest throw of the women's shot put competition at Friday's 2021 GVSU Holiday Open, shattering her own school record by more than a foot with a throw of 15.16 meters (49'9") and taking second in the competition in the tiebreaker.
It was an impressive day for Maines, who finished 10th at last year's NCAA Division II Indoor National Meet and is gunning for All-American honors this season. The Centralia, Illinois native also set a new personal best of 18.82 meters in the weight throw to take second in that event as well, just a little over three-tenths of a meter from the Charger school record. Both marks are provisional qualifying marks for the national meet in those events and, while it's early days, are among the top three throws in Division II so far.
Maines highlighted an impressive day for the Charger throws crew. Freshman Averi Parker excelled in her first collegiate meet, tying Maines' old school record of 14.77m in the shot put to finish third overall and earn a provisional qualifying mark in her first go-around, while also throwing 16.00m in the weight throw to tie for the ninth best throw on the day. Two returners, second-year freshmen Katie Sayles and Juliet Bernard, also placed in the top nine in the weight throw for the Chargers, with Sayles taking eighth (17.04m) and Bernard tying Parker for ninth (16.00m).
Hillsdale's third provisional qualifying mark came in the 4x400m relay, where the Chargers' team of junior Zalonya Eby, freshman Reese Dragovich, freshman Shura Ermakov and sophomore Dakota Stamm beat all other Division II teams and took second overall in 3:50.61. The Chargers are the only team in the nation so far to set a provisional qualifying mark in the 4x400m relay and are just three seconds off the school record time they ran to take runner-up in last years NCAA DII Indoor National Meet in their first race of the season.
Other athletes impressed for the Chargers. Hillsdale had three of the top nine pole vaulters at the meet, all freshmen competing for the first time at the collegiate level, led by Katie Clifford, who cleared 3.60 meters to achieve a Division II provisional qualifying mark in her first meet as well. Morgan Iverson was close behind in seventh, clearing 3.45 meters, and Isabella Socha took ninth, clearing 3.30 meters for the Chargers.
Hillsdale also had two high jumpers tie for second place overall, as junior Alexie Day cleared 1.64m to set a new personal best, and freshman Reagan Dahlquist cleared the same height to tie her in the final standings.
Emily Gerdin was runner-up in the triple jump for the Chargers with a distance of 11.32m, and sophomore Kaitlyn Rust took sixth in the 800m run as well for Hillsdale, in a time of 2:21.88.
Hillsdale will be off for Christmas break, and will next be in action on Friday, Jan. 14, when the Chargers host Ashland and Findlay in a tri-meet at 4 p.m. in the Biermann Center.