Only the best of the best get to compete at the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships every March.
That makes the continued presence of the Hillsdale College men's and women's track and field teams on an annual basis even more impressive, and the 2022 edition, hosted by Pittsburg St. this Friday and Saturday in Pittsburg, Kansas, is no exception.
Four Chargers athletes travel to Pittsburg this weekend to compete for All-American honors and national titles in three events.
Representing the Hillsdale men's team is junior Ben Raffin, who's already earned All-American status in his signature event, the pole vault, twice in his career. Raffin took seventh at the 2021 Indoor Championships to earn one All-American honor, then finished eighth at the 2021 outdoor championships as well.
The junior will compete at 5 p.m. on Saturday in the pole vault event.
On the women's side, three members of Hillsdale's decorated throws crew are representing the Chargers at the NCAA Indoor Championships -- junior Nikita Maines in the shot put and weight throw, freshman Katie Sayles in the weight throw, and freshman Averi Parker in the shot put.
Maines and Sayles will compete in the weight throw at 5:55 p.m. on Friday night. The pair are both among the top eight seeds in the event and expected to be contenders for both All-American status and potentially a national title in the event depending on how the competition shakes out.
On Saturday, Hillsdale closes out its presence in the competition with the women's shot put at 6:05 p.m., with both Maines and Parker competing. Maines is also seeded in the top eight in the shot put and is a three-year indoor national qualifier in the event.
You can follow along with the action at home on both days. Live results from the meet will be posted by Leone Timing at this link. The NCAA also will be broadcasting action on both days on its website, ncaa.com, at this link.