The Hillsdale College men's track and field team had a busy weekend, with athletes competing in four separate meets on two different sides of the United States.
Bryan Clay Invite
Hillsdale opened the weekend at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California on Friday, hosted by NCAA DII powerhouse Azusa Pacific, with several notable marks set.
The biggest moment for the Chargers came in the 4x400m relay, when Hillsdale's team of Benu Meintjes, Jamahl Burke, Ian Calvert and Sean Fagan took third in a meet loaded with NCAA DI and top-tier Division II teams in a time of 3:13.36. That time not only gave the Chargers a provisional qualifying mark in the event, it represents the 11th-fastest time in the NCAA DII outdoor season to date, and makes the foursome prime contenders to represent Hillsdale at the NCAA DII Outdoor national meet at the end of May if their times can keep improving.
In other action, Fagan took 22nd in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.87, his best non-wind-aided mark to date, and freshman Cass Dobrowolski placed 14th in the high jump with a clearance of 1.98 meters.
"The Beach" Invite
The Chargers continued their California trek on Saturday in Long Beach at "The Beach" Invite, another big meet with top talent from across the country competing.
Sean Fagan had another strong day for Hillsdale, bettering his 110 hurdles mark from Friday with a 14.85 to place 43rd, and also taking 15th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 54.16.
Also on the track, Burke took 14th in a loaded 400m dash field in a time of 48.63, with Meintjes close behind in 22nd in a time of 49.12, while Calvert took 75th in the 800m run in a time of 1:59.44.
In the field, junior pole vault Ben Raffin placed sixth with a clearance of 4.97 meters.
Tiffin Carnival
While several Charger athletes were competing on the West Coast, the bulk of the Hillsdale squad went to Tiffin, Ohio on Friday and Saturday to compete against a variety of Midwestern schools in the Tiffin Carnival.
Several distance athletes had strong days for the Chargers, led by Mark Sprague, who, in his first meet of the season since returning from injury, took 12th in the 5,000m run in a collegiate best time of 15:13.07, and senior Mark Miller, who finished eighth in the 1,500m run in a time of 4:03.73.
Also on the track, Dagur Einarsson finished 14th in the 100m dash in a season-best time of 10.91 as well.
In the field, Kyle MacBeth placed third in the javelin with a throw of 53.90 meters, while teammate Jonathan Burton took 10th with a personal best mark of 42.20 meters. Joshua Nichols finished third in the triple jump with a mark of 14.05 meters as well, and Charlie Andrews finished sixth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.95 meters.
Hillsdale will be back in action next weekend, splitting its squad between the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana and the Georgia Tech Invite in Atlanta, Georgia.
Photo by Reily Rogers, Lee University Athletics