The month of February is the unofficial start of championship season for collegiate indoor track and field teams, as thoughts turn to conference championship meets to come, and putting down fast times to try and reach the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
If this weekend's Jud Logan Light Giver Open, hosted by Ashland, is any indication, the Hillsdale College women's track and field team are in fine form entering this crucial time of the season.
The Chargers won five events at the massive two-day invitational with some of the Midwest's top talent in attendance, and posted six NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks.
Perhaps the most impressive of those results came in the distance medley relay, where the Chargers' team of Gwynne Riley, Reese Dragovich, Margaret Scheske and Shura Ermakov not only won the event in a meet record time, but also posted the fastest time at the NCAA Division II level in the event to date, an 11:41.94 that should give the Chargers' quartet a great shot of reaching the 2023 Indoor Championships.
That relay was one of two huge races for Ermakov on the day, as the sophomore put together a massive personal best to win the 400m run, also in a meet record time of 55.63. That time is the 10th best mark in the event this season at the NCAA DII level. Teammate Dakota Stamm took third in the 400 in a provisional time of her own of 56.72, and also placed seventh in the 200m dash in 25.58.
Also on the track, Riley and Scheske finished 1-2 in the 3,000m run, with Riley taking the title in 10:01.66 and Scheske finishing close behind in a personal best time of 10:08.85. The Chargers distance crew also excelled in other events, with Natalie Martinson taking third in the 5,000m run in a time of 18:13.09 and teammate Kayla Loescher finishing eighth in the same event in 19:02.19. Sophomore Nicole Marshall also took eighth in the 800m run in 2:19.20.
In the hurdle events, Louisa Klaserner pulled off a huge victory for the Chargers at 60 meters, winning the race in a personal best time of 8.93 meters.
While Hillsdale's track competitors stood out this weekend, the Chargers also continued to have great success in the field events as well. Hillsdale's throws crew continued a strong start to the season, as sophomore Katie Sayles took second in the weight throw with a distance of 18.67 meters. Sayles was one of three Chargers to place in the event, with senior Nikita Maines taking fourth with a throw of 18.20 meters, and junior Katie Weldy placing eighth with a distance of 16.69 meters as well. Both Sayles and Maines were over provisional qualifying distance in the event.
In the shot put, sophomore Averi Parker posted a provisional mark and a season best to finish runner-up, with a 14.52 meter mark that ranks as the 10th best mark in NCAA Division II so far this season. Maines also placed fourth and exceeded the provisional qualifying mark with a throw of 13.69 meters.
Reagan Dahlquist, meanwhile, led Hillsdale's jumps squad with a victory in the high jump, clearing 1.65 meters, and the Chargers put two pole vaulters in the top eight -- Morgan Iverson, who finished third with a season-best clearance of 3.65 meters, and Kaylee Jackson, who took eighth with a height of 3.50 meters. Emily Gerdin also finished fifth with a mark of 11.19 meters in the triple jump.
Hillsdale rounded out the meet with two strong performances in the pentathlon. Neva Polo posted a career-best score of 3,166 points in the five part multi-event, including a victory in the long jump (5.15 meters), while teammate Allison Nimtz was close behind in fifth with a career-best 3,106 points herself, including a victory in the shot put (10.93 meters).
With several athletes well-positioned nationally and three weeks before the Chargers return to Ashland for the G-MAC Championships, Hillsdale will look to continue building with another week of big meets ahead, including trips to Grand Valley State and Tiffin for competition next Friday and Saturday.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan