The weather in Michigan is finally warming up after a long winter and inhospitable spring -- and the Hillsdale College women's track and field team is heating up as well.
The Chargers took advantage of good conditions at this weekend's Elaine Leigh Invitational, hosted by Oakland University, to set two new NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying marks, as well as numerous personal bests across a variety of events.
One of the big steps up came from freshman pole vaulter Katie Clifford, who won the event on Saturday and achieved her first-ever outdoor provisional qualifying mark with a clearance of 3.75 meters, currently sitting tied at 39th in the nation among NCAA DII vaulters. Clifford led three placers for the Chargers on Saturday, as teammate Kaylee Jackson took sixth with a clearance of 3.40 meters, and Isabella Socha took seventh with a clearance of 3.25 meters.
Joining Clifford in setting a provisional qualifying time on Saturday was sophomore Dakota Stamm, who took runner-up in the 400 meter dash in a personal best time of 55.88. Already an All-American in relays, Stamm's time now ranks the 25th fastest in the national at the NCAA DII level to date. Stamm was one of four Chargers to place in the 400m dash, as sophomore Josee Behling took fourth in a personal best time of 56.82, Zalonya Eby finished sixth in a time of 58.45 and Alanna O'Leary placed seventh in a time of 58.66. Stamm, Behling and Eby, joined by Shura Ermakov, also finished runner-up in the 4x400m relay, in a time of 3:54.11.
There were several more notable results on the track for the Chargers. Sophomore Louisa Klaserner took third in the 100m hurdles with a career-best time of 14.55, sophomore Kaitlyn Rust won the 1,500m run in a personal best time of 4:57.01, and freshman Reese Dragovich took third in the 800m run in a personal best time of 2:13.02, with teammate Vera Thompson finishing behind her in sixth in a career-best time of 2:17.77 as well.
The Chargers also placed three in the 400m hurdles, led by Ermakov, who took runner-up honors in 1:02.08, less than a tenth of a second from the provisional qualifying time in the event. Judith Allison took third in a time of 1:04.36 and Isabella Gutierrez placed sixth in a time of 1:06.34 as well for Hillsdale.
In the field, freshman Averi Parker won the discus with a throw of 44.53 meters and took seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.46 meters, both collegiate bests. Teammate Mackenzie Morrison took fourth in the discus (40.72) meters and sophomore Eden Little (2nd, 41.54) and Peyton Panka (3rd, 39.25) posted a 2-3 finish for Hillsdale in the javelin as well.
In the shot put, junior Nikita Maines took second with a mark of 15.20 meters, with sophomore Katie Sayles placing seventh in the event with a throw of 12.65 meters.
Hillsdale also had three athletes place in the high jump. Junior Alexie Day took runner-up honors, freshman Reagan Dahlquist took third and freshman Erika Mogelvang placed sixth with a personal-best clearance, with all three jumping 1.60 meters in the event.
The Chargers are just two weeks out from the G-MAC Championships, and have one final tune-up meet at Walsh next weekend to prepare.
Photo by Reily Rogers