As the first snow of the season hits the ground and fall gives way to winter, it's time to pivot as well for the Hillsdale College cross country and track and field programs.
The Chargers wrapped up a successful cross country season in November, and now prepare to begin the indoor track and field season at the start of December, with the outdoor season to come in the spring.
Hillsdale's Liz Wamsley had a stellar cross country season, winning five meets including Hillsdale's first-ever individual G-MAC women's cross country title, and the program's first Midwest Regional championship since 2015. The fourth-year runner who was a cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field All-American in 2022-23 added a fourth All-American honor at the 2023 NCAA DII Cross Country Championships on Nov. 18, placing 11th in the nation in Hillsdale's best national meet finish since 2018.
As a team, the Charger women placed fourth in the G-MAC Championships, with freshman Savannah Fraley also earning All-G-MAC honors.
On the men's side, Alex Mitchell ran the fastest 8K time by a Hillsdale men's cross country athlete since 2019 to place third overall at the G-MAC Championships, and later earned All-Midwest Region honors as well. Teammate Richie Johnston also earned All-G-MAC honors with a 10th place finish at the G-MAC Championships.
Now, the page turns to track and field seasons where the Chargers have significant talent returning and will look to have one of their most competitive national meet teams in recent years.
It starts with Wamsley, who will look to duplicate last year's feat of earning All-American honors in all three seasons she competes. She's already a third of the way there and poised to be a strong contender in the long distance events both indoors and outdoors.
Hillsdale's women's team has a second returning All-American in hurdler Shura Ermakov, who placed fifth in the nation in the 400m hurdles at last year's outdoor championships. Ermakov will be a top hurdler outdoors and a top sprinter indoors for the Chargers while helping Hillsdale field what should be another nationally competitive indoor and outdoor 4x400m relay. Another teammate, junior Reese Dragovich, should be a big part of those relays and will contend to make her first national meet trip as an individual after two years of improving provisional qualifying marks.
Also returning are sophomores Francesca Federici and Anna Roberts, both of whom give the Chargers a high floor for their relays and who will compete to make the national meet squad. Hillsdale gets a big boost with the return of Josee Behling, who missed last season but will be in the mix to play a big role in relays as well.
In the jumps and multis, the Chargers return a national meet qualifier in high jumper Regan Dahlquist, and multiple provisionally qualifying pole vaulters in Kaylee Jackson and Morgan Iverson. Pentathlete/Heptathlete Neva Polo has come close to reaching the national meet in past years as well and this could be a breakthrough year for her.
Hillsdale has had a consistently strong throws crew over the last few years and several big contenders return. Juniors Averi Parker and Katie Sayles and senior Eden Little are consistent national meet qualifiers with significant experience and big throws under their belt and will be a major part of Hillsdale's plans in 2023-24. Senior Katie Weldy and junior Juliet Bernard have been on the cusp for multiple seasons and have a shot to earn their first berths as well.
On the men's side, Ben Haas returns after placing third in the nation in the indoor weight throw and will be a legitimate contender to bring home a NCAA DII national title as he continues to improve in the discipline. He leads what should be a much-improved men's squad for the Chargers, as Hillsdale gets several athletes back from injuries and young competitors mature into contenders.
2022 outdoor All-American Sean Fagan is back and fully healthy after being hobbled for the 2022-23 season, and should be one of the top hurdlers in the nation. Hillsdale also brings back a strong distance crew that includes Mitchell, coming off a career-best cross country season, and Johnston, a 2023 national meet qualifier in the 3,000m steeplechase. Mid-distance specialists Benu Meintjes and Maliq Brock also have a history of provisional qualifying times and should be strong competitors both individually and on relays for the Chargers.
In the field, Hillsdale should have a solid jumps crew headlined by 2022 outdoor high jump qualifier Cass Dobrowolski, a threat to challenge the Hillsdale College record in the event.
For both the men and women, the X-factor as always is the incoming freshman class. While it's hard to predict who will make an instant impact, every year new stars emerge and make their mark both in the conference and nationally.
Hillsdale's first indoor home meet will be on January 19 in the Biermann Center on the Hillsdale College campus. The Chargers have three indoor home meets in 2023-24 and, for the first time since 2021, Hillsdale also will host four home meets at its newly completed outdoor track and field facility at Hayden Park. That includes the 2024 G-MAC Outdoor Championships, scheduled to take place in Hillsdale from May 1-3. You can find the full schedule here.