2021-22 G-MAC Indoor Track and Field Awards
The Hillsdale College women's track and field team had another banner season, taking runner-up honors in the G-MAC and finishing in the top three at the conference championship meet for the fifth year in a row.
Leading the way for the Chargers all season long was their standout throws crew, which sent three competitors to the NCAA Division II National Meet in Pittsburg, Kansas earlier this month, and that group has been amply recognized by the G-MAC as the conference announced its end-of-season awards on Thursday.
Junior thrower Nikita Maines was named the conference's Co-Field Athlete of the Year, sharing the honor with Tiffin high jumper Marissa Gwinner. One of the top throwers in program history, Maines is the first Charger field athlete to earn the honor in Hillsdale's time in the G-MAC. The junior from Centralia, Illinois won the G-MAC title in the weight throw with a throw of 19.69 meters, and also took second in the shot put with a throw of 14.87 meters. She also made the NCAA DII national meet, placing 10th in the nation in both events, and broke her own school record in the shot put during the season, setting a new mark of 15.16 meters.
Along with Maines, Hillsdale also had the G-MAC Freshman of the Year in Maines' teammate and fellow thrower, Averi Parker. A stand-out shot-putter in her first season with the Chargers, Parker took fourth place in the G-MAC in the shot put with a throw of 14.65 meters, and made the NCAA DII National Meet, earning All-American honors with an eighth-place finish in the shot put and a personal best throw of 14.81 meters.
Maines and Parker lead a strong contingent of Charger athletes earning All-G-MAC honors, nine in total.
Along with Maines, junior sprinter Zalonya Eby also earned first-team All-G-MAC honors. Eby won the 200m dash for the Chargers at the G-MAC Championships in 25.15, and also teamed with Josee Behling, Shura Ermakov and Dakota Stamm to take second place in the 4x400m relay (3:53.63).
That relay trio, Behling, Ermakov and Stamm, all earned second-team honors from the G-MAC thanks to that relay showing. Stamm also earned runner-up honors in the 400m dash (57.01) at the G-MAC Championships as well, and Behling also teamed with Gwynne Riley, Reese Dragovich and Liz Wamsley on the runner-up distance medley relay as well (11:57.25).
Riley, Dragovich and Wamsley all earned second-team honors from that relay finish, and also excelled individually. Riley finished third in the mile run (4:58.44), Dragovich took third in the 800m run (2:17.08), and Wamsley took third in the 3,000m run (9:54.63).
Last, but not least, Emily Gerdin also brought home second-team All-G-MAC honors with a third-place finish in the triple jump (11.65 meters) as well for Hillsdale.
All 10 Chargers who were honored by the G-MAC have moved on to the spring outdoor season, looking to continue to add to their accomplishments and help Hillsdale get back atop the podium as a team at the G-MAC Outdoor Championships in the first week of May in Owensboro, Kentucky.