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The Hillsdale College track and field teams look to continue a banner year with a strong performance at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship meet this Wednesday through Friday in Owensboro, Kentucky.
The Charger women enter this weekend's meet looking to regain the outdoor conference crown they last won in 2018. Hillsdale finished third in the most recently contested G-MAC Outdoor Championship in 2019, but they've won the last two indoor conference titles in 2020 and 2021 and enter the meet as the favorite to claim the crown.
Hillsdale's women hold the top seed in six events, led by DII Indoor National Champion Kajsa Johansson, who holds the top seed in both the 100m dash and 200m dash and is ranked second in the nation in both events.
2021 G-MAC indoor 400m champion Dakota Stamm is the top seed in the outdoor 400m dash as well for the Chargers, and G-MAC Indoor Freshman of the Year Shura Ermakov is also the top seed in the 400m hurdles.
All three athletes will play major roles on two top-seeded relays for the Chargers, as Hillsdale has provisional qualifying times and the top seed in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
Hillsdale's strength is not just its title-winning athletes but its depth. The Chargers have athletes lined up to score points in nearly every event. Seniors Calli Townsend, Maryssa Depies and Christina Sawyer lead what should be a strong mid-distance and distance showing for the Chargers, freshmen Louisa Klaserner and Grace Gottwalt are threats to score in the 100 hurdles, and freshman Margaret Scheske should be one of the conference's top competitors in the steeplechase.
The Charger women should be competitive in the field events as well. Throwers Nikita Maines, Juliet Bernard and Eden Little will contend for conference titles, and Emily Gerdin, who won the 2021 indoor triple jump title, should be a factor in both the triple jump and the long jump.
On the men's side, the Chargers are looking to improve on a fifth-place finish in 2019. While dethroning nationally-ranked Tiffin and Findlay will be hard for Hillsdale, the Charger men are in a good position to have several athletes contend for conference titles and All-G-MAC honors.
Hillsdale's men have the top seed in three events, all held by seniors with long histories of success in the Charger track and field program. 2020 indoor heptathlon champion Ryan Thomsen returned for a fifth year to complete his outdoor eligibility and is the top seed in the decathlon. Fellow fifth-year senior, Ian Brown, is the top seed in the 110 hurdles, the event he holds the Hillsdale College record in. And distance stalwart Mark Miller, with many All-G-MAC honors to his name, is the top seed in the 1,500m run.
All three have strong chances at winning G-MAC titles. It should be a big meet as well for a precocious freshman class that includes 2021 G-MAC Indoor Freshman of the Year Jamahl Burke in the sprints and Indoor school record holder Sean Fagan in the hurdles. Those two should also team with gifted 400m runners Benu Meintjes and Ian Calvert in a 4x400 relay that will be a strong contender for the G-MAC title.
In the field, 2021 indoor All-American Ben Raffin should be one of the top finishers in a loaded pole vault field, and several other Hillsdale athletes are in a position to score valuable points for the Chargers in a variety of events.
You can follow along with the meet at home at the links above, with live results, heat sheets and a schedule for when Hillsdale athletes will be competing this weekend. Due to logistical difficulties, a stream of this week's event will not be available. For more information on the Hillsdale College track and field team, check our website at hillsdalechargers.com.