The Hillsdale College women's track and field team's Shura Ermakov entered this week as a fringe contender for a spot in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in the 400m hurdles.
But at Thursday's Last Chance Meet hosted by Oakland University, the sophomore showed she has what it takes to be a real contender, with a big personal best that puts her right on the bubble for her first individual national meet appearance.
Ermakov took third in a competitive field in the 400m hurdles in 1:01.22, not only the best time in her career at Hillsdale but also the 20th-best time at the NCAA DII level this season, a provisional mark that puts her within a couple of spots of the likely NCAA DII Championship field in the event.
The sophomore wasn't the only Charger competing on Thursday, as several Hillsdale athletes looked to better their current marks in the final week of competition before the national meet field is announced. Freshman Reese Dragovich won the 800m run for Hillsdale in 2:15.02, and sophomore Louisa Klaserner took fourth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.62.
In the field, junior Emily Gerdin took runner-up in the triple jump with a mark of 11.40 meters, freshman Reagan Dahlquist took fourth in 1.57 meters, and pole vaulters Katie Clifford and Morgan Iverson each cleared 3.60 meters and finished 12th and 13th, respectively.
While Ermakov's time is an impressive jump, it still likely leaves her just on the outside looking in of the NCAA Outdoor Championships field, but the Chargers do have two more meets remaining this weekend, today, Friday at Baldwin-Wallace in Ohio, and tomorrow, Saturday at Lee University in Tennessee, to try and put down a final mark to get its athletes into the national field by next Tuesday's announcement.
Photo by Reily Rogers, Lee University