In order to repeat as All-Americans in the women's 4x400 meter relay at the 2022 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships on Saturday, the previous best ever done by the Hillsdale College women's track and field team wouldn't have been good enough.
So the Charger team of Josee Behling, Shura Ermakov, Dakota Stamm and Zalonya Eby not only went faster than they've ever gone, but also faster than any Charger women's 4x400 meter relay team has ever gone before to get back on the podium in the finals in Allendale, Michigan.
Behling, Ermakov, Stamm and Eby ran a blazing 3:40.97, nearly two seconds faster that the Charger school record set by the quartet a couple of weeks earlier, to take sixth overall in the women's 4x400m final, the best finish ever by a Hillsdale women's team in the 4x400 meter relay at a DII Outdoor Championship meet.
Big performances by all four legs made the difference for the Chargers. Behling led off with a personal best split of 56.3, Ermakov broke 55 seconds for the first time on the second leg, Stamm ran a personal best split of 54.1 on the third leg, and Eby came close to her all-time best leg and held on to the sixth spot with a 55.2.
It's the first time in program history that the Chargers have repeated as All-Americans in consecutive seasons in the women's 4x400 meter relay, and Hillsdale should continue to be strong in the event, as all four runners have eligibility remaining heading into the 2022-23 school year, and Behling, Ermakov and Stamm each have two seasons to work with.
Hillsdale also had two athletes compete in the shot put finals on Saturday morning at the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, but both junior Nikita Maines and freshman Averi Parker faulted on all three of their attempts and were unable to advance to the final in their first trip to the Outdoor Championships. Both athletes have a strong track record of success over their careers and will look to come back stronger in the 2022-23 season with the experience they gained in competition this spring.