The Hillsdale College women's track and field team added another event title and remained in the hunt for the team crown with a solid performance on the second day of the G-MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday.
In the lone running event to contest a final on the track, Hillsdale's Margaret Scheske added a second G-MAC title to her haul in 2022-23, winning the 3,000m steeplechase in 11:10.10 to add to her indoor 1,500m crown. Scheske, who was the runner-up last year and is a two-time NCAA national meet qualifier in the event, is a near-lock to make a third trip to the Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase at the end of May.
Scheske led three placers in the top five for the Chargers in the steeplechase, as Katie Edison took fourth in 11:50.85 and Natalie Martinson placed fifth in 11:51.47 for Hillsdale as well.
The Chargers also had a solid day in the multis and in the field. Neva Polo took runner-up honors in the hepthathlon with 4,423 points, just ahead of teammate Allison Nimtz who took fifth with 4,140 points, with both athletes setting new personal bests in the multi-event.
Also in the field, sophomore Averi Parker snagged a runner-up finish in the shot put with a throw of 14.69 meters and teammate Nikita Maines placed sixth with a throw of 14.42 meters. The Chargers also placed two in the pole vault, with sophomore Morgan Iverson and freshman Tara Townsend each clearing 3.50 meters and finishing in a three-way tie for sixth.
While Hillsdale had a solid day in finals, the Chargers also did important work in the preliminaries setting up a strong slate for tomorrow's events. Hillsdale will enter tomorrow with the top seed and multiple competitors in the 1,500m run, as Liz Wamsley finished the prelims with the fastest time in the event (4:40.63) and junior Gwynne Riley also made it through in fifth with a time of 4:47.48.
In the 400m hurdles, junior Shura Ermakov will be the top seed for the Chargers after leading the preliminaries with a time of 1:01.34, ahead of teammate Judith Allison who qualified for the final in seventh with a time of 1:05.25.
Both Ermakov and Allison also made the final of the 100m hurdles. Teammate Louisa Klaserner led the way in the event and is seeded third with a time of 14.66, while Ermakov is seeded fifth with a prelim time of 14.75 and Allison is seventh with a time of 15.31.
Hillsdale also had multiple qualifiers in the 800m run, as sophomore Reese Dragovich is seeded third after a prelim time of 2:13.94, and Nicole Marshall is seeded sixth with a time of 2:14.47. Senior Dakota Stamm also made the finals in the 400m dash, seeded seventh in 58.11.
Entering the final day of competition on Friday, the Chargers are currently second with 67 points, 12 behind meet leader Findlay and 19 ahead of third-place Walsh. While overtaking the Oilers won't be easy, Hillsdale trailed Findlay entering the final day last year as well before overtaking the Oilers and winning the title, and the Chargers will have a chance to do so again tomorrow if things fall their way.
Photo by Michael Hopkins