The Hillsdale College women's track and field team began its G-MAC Indoor Championships title defense with a strong performance on the first day of competition on Friday, with one of its most decorated throwers leading the way.
Junior Nikita Maines, the 2020 G-MAC Indoor weight throw champion, reclaimed the title she had lost in 2021 with a big performance for Hillsdale in the meet hosted by Findlay, throwing a personal best 19.69 meters to win the crown by over 20 centimeters. Maines' throw moves her up to sixth nationally at the NCAA Division II level, and led three Charger placers in the event, as freshman Katie Sayles took sixth (17.12 meters) and freshman Juliet Bernard took eighth (16.28 meters).
Several other Chargers earned valuable points for Hillsdale on the first day of competition. The Chargers' distance medley relay team of Gwynne Riley, Josee Behling, Reese Dragovich and Liz Wamsley placed second, in 11:57.25 for Hillsdale, while junior Claire McNally finished sixth (17:57.37) and Natalie Martinson took eighth (18:40.16) for Hillsdale in the 5,000 meter run as well.
In the field events, Emily Gerdin took fourth in the long jump for the Chargers with a season-best jump of 5.49 meters, while in the multis freshman Neva Polo set a personal best score of 2,900 in the pentathlon to take fifth, placing third in the shot put and fifth in both the high jump and the long jump as well.
While Friday did have its share of top finishes for the Chargers, the day was primarily about getting athletes through preliminary races and setting the team up for championship Saturday, a mission Hillsdale largely succeeded in. The Chargers put three in the 400 meter dash finals, including defending G-MAC indoor 400m dash champion Dakota Stamm, Zalonya Eby and Shura Ermakov, and Eby and Stamm also made the finals in the 200m dash. Freshman Louisa Klaserner earned a spot in the 60m hurdle finals as well for Hillsdale.
With one day in the books, Hillsdale is currently in second place with 35 points, trailing leader Findlay's total of 53. The Chargers will have opportunities to make up that gap on Saturday, but will need the kind of excellent performances that have lifted them to the title in each of the two previous years to win a third-straight crown. The action begins tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Photo Courtesy of Findlay Athletics