In their final opportunity to make a mark before the announcement of the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships field on Tuesday, several Hillsdale College women's track and field athletes put forth strong performances this weekend at Last Chance meets at Oakland University and Baldwin-Wallace University.
The Chargers improved their provisional qualifying marks in three events over the course of the weekend, and in two cases likely booked their trip to Pueblo, Colorado for the national meet.
Hillsdale's 4x400m team of Reese Dragovich, Francesca Federici, Dakota Stamm and Shura Ermakov ran a big personal best this weekend, winning the race at Oakland in 3:44.51 to move into 13th in the nation at the NCAA DII level in the event. On Friday, the quartet took to the track again and shaved a few hundredths of a second off their time at the Harrison Dillard Twilight Classic, also winning that race in 3:44.45 to move into a tie for 12th place nationally with Colorado School of Mines. In an event that typically takes 14 to the national championship, that time gives the Chargers a good chance of earning a bid.
Another athlete that helped herself considerably this weekend was sophomore Averi Parker. Already more or less guaranteed a spot in the shot put due to earlier performances, Parker was firmly on the bubble to make the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw, but a big personal best throw of 57.05 meters at the Harrison Dillard Twilight Classic not only earned her second place, but almost certainly locked up a bid by moving her up to 14th in the nation in an event where the top 20 are typically given berths.
Junior Gwynne Riley also had a big personal best for the Chargers, taking second in the 1,500m run on Friday in a new personal best time of 4:26.63 that moves her up to 31st in the nation at the NCAA DII level in the event. While that time most likely won't get Riley into the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships with an extremely tough field in the event, it's still an excellent result and a strong statement at the end of the season for the junior.
Several other Hillsdale athletes competed on the weekend and put up solid performances in the two meets. Junior Louisa Klaserner ran in the hurdles in both places, taking fourth in the 100m hurdles at Oakland in 14.53, and placing runner-up at the Harrison Dillard Twilight in the same event in 14.45.
Sophomore Reagan Dahlquist also took runner-up in the high jump at Oakland with a clearance of 1.66 meters.
At the Harrison Dillard Twilight on Friday, Dragovich finished runner-up in the 800m run in a time of 2:11.34, and sophomore Mackenzie Morrison won the discus with a mark of 40.45 meters.
Junior Eden Little took second in the javelin with a throw of 43.40 meters and also placed seventh in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 51.27 meters, while teammate Katie Weldy placed fifth in the hammer throw with a mark of 54.54 meters. Senior Nikita Maines also took eighth in the shot put with a throw of 12.84 meters.
The Chargers will find out on Tuesday exactly how many of their athletes will make the trip to Pueblo, Colorado, but it's already shaping up to be a strong contingent from Hillsdale. The three-day NCAA DII Outdoor Championships will run from May 25-27 -- stay tuned to hillsdalechargers.com for more details.
Photo by David Beach