The Hillsdale College men's track and field team had a good day at Thursday's Last Chance meet hosted by Oakland University, with several athletes setting personal bests and improving their positions in the NCAA DII national rankings in their events heading into the final weekend of the season.
Perhaps the most important finish was junior pole vaulter Ben Raffin, who took second with a season-best clearance of 5.07 meters in the pole vault. That extra inch could be crucial as it moves Raffin up to a tie for 15th place in the nation and greatly improves his chances of returning to the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships where he was an All-American last season. The three-time All-American in the pole vault could be back at it this weekend as well looking to improve his mark and lock up his spot.
In the 400m hurdles, sophomore Sean Fagan also took second with a personal best mark of 52.31, though the improvement of seven-hundredths of a second keeps him 20th nationally in the event.
Hillsdale did get one new NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark on Thursday from sophomore Benu Meintjes in the 400m dash, as Meintjes took second in 47.60, his first career provisional mark in an individual event and the 31st fastest time in the 400 meter dash at the NCAA DII level this season. Meintjes finished just ahead of teammate Jamahl Burke, who took fourth in 48.15.
The Chargers' 4x100m team also improved on the provisional mark it set at last week's G-MAC Championships with a winning relay finish on Thursday. The team of Jacob Schmidt, Burke, Dagur Einarsson and Oscar Samuelsson took first in 40.98, their fastest time of the season and the 46th-fastest time in the event at the NCAA DII level.
Hillsdale continues the push to qualify its athletes for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships this weekend, with meets today, Friday, at Baldwin-Wallace in Ohio, and Saturday at Lee University in Tennessee.
Photo by Reily Rogers, Lee University