It's a testament to excellence when record-breaking performances become routine.
That's the spot Hillsdale College junior Nikita Maines finds herself in after rewriting the Hillsdale College women's track and field record book for the fourth time this season, and the third time in the last three weeks.
Maines' latest accomplishment has caught the attention of the G-MAC office, as the Centralia, Illinois native was named the conference Women's Field Athlete of the Week this afternoon.
The impetus for the award was Maines' title-winning performance in the shot put at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California last Friday. Maines not only won the event but shattered her own school record in the event with a throw of 15.54 meters, outdistancing her mark of 15.34 meters set at last week's Flames Invite by nearly a foot.
Maines' mark is not only a school record, but it's the top mark in the G-MAC this season, the fourth-best throw in G-MAC history, and the third best throw in the nation at the NCAA DII level this year. It makes the junior a near-lock to make the NCAA DII Outdoor National Championships for the first time, adding to three years of qualifying for the NCAA DII Indoor Championships.
The junior also holds the Chargers' indoor shot put record at 15.16 meters, and was the G-MAC Indoor weight throw champion earlier this winter.
Maines now has over a month to refine and continue pushing the record further heading into the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships at the end of May in Allendale, Michigan. The junior and the Hillsdale College track and field team compete again this weekend, with the Chargers splitting its squad and heading to both the Georgia Tech Invite in Atlanta, Georgia and the Gibson Invite in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop