The defending Great Midwest Athletic Conference women's outdoor track and field champions kicked off the 2023 championship meet on Wednesday at Ashland, wasting no time in bringing home its first event title.
Defending 2022 javelin champion Eden Little, a junior, authored a repeat performance in 2023, surpassing her winning mark from 2022 with a throw of 42.08 meters to distance herself from the competition.
Little also scored critical points for the Chargers in the hammer throw, placing seventh with a personal best distance of 51 meters. She was one of three Chargers to place in the event and score points, led by Katie Weldy's fourth place finish with a throw of 53.07. Sophomore Averi Parker also took fifth for the Chargers with a mark of 52.88 meters.
Wednesday also included competition in the first four rounds of the women's heptathlon, with Hillsdale in position for a strong showing with two athletes currently in the top five in the standings. Sophomore Neva Polo is currently in third place through four events with 2,672 points, led by a runner-up finish in the shot put, and Allison Nimtz is in fifth with 2,514 points after taking third in the shot put as well.
At the conclusion of the first day, Hillsdale is currently in second place with 21 points, five behind leader Findlay.
The Chargers will be back on track again on Thursday, as Polo and Nimtz wrap up the heptathlon, and Hillsdale also contests finals in the shot put, long jump, pole vault and 3,000m steeplechase. In addition, Thursday also contains preliminaries in all of the running events, with the entire outcome of the meet resting on a strong showing in those races and advancing athletes to the finals on Friday.
Photo by Patrick McGuire