The Hillsdale College men's track and field team had a stellar showing at its first home meet of the 2023-24 indoor season on Saturday, winning seven events and posting or improving on two NCAA DII Provisional Qualiying marks at the annual Wide Track Classic.
In the weight throw, Hillsdale sophomore Ben Haas led a 1-2-3 finish for the Chargers by bettering his provisional qualifying mark in the event with a throw of 20.47 meters, placing him fifth in the nation at the DII level currently. Matthew Belanich took second with a throw of 15.46 meters behind Haas and Isaac Doughty took third with a throw of 14.92 meters, both personal bests.
Also in the field, junior Cass Dobrowolski earned his first NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark with a winning jump of 2.05 meters in the high jump. Dobrowolski, a past national meet qualifier in the event, is currently tied for 26th in NCAA DII with that mark, and also took second in the long jump with a career-best mark of 6.32 meters.
On the track, the Charger men also had a standout day with five event wins. Junior Alex Mitchell set a facility record in the 3,000m run, winning in 8:33.83 and leading a one through four sweep of Chargers in the event. Donny McArdle took second for Hillsdale in 9:17.97 and Nathaniel Osborne placed third in a personal best time 9:19.86.
Hillsdale also took the top four spots in the 800m run, with sophomore Seth Jankowski leading the way in 1:56.53. Junior Ross Kuhn was close behind with a time of 1:56.55 and senior Sean Hoeft took third with a time of 1:56.67.
In the 400m dash, senior Benu Meintes ran away from the field to win in 51.97, and the Chargers went 1-2 in the 60m hurdles, with senior Sean Fagan winning in 8.41 and sophomore Colsen Conway taking second in 8.62. All three athletes teamed up with senior Joseph Ritzer to win the 4x400m relay for Hillsdale, finishing in 3:28.63.
Sophomore Emil Schleuter took second in the mile as well for Hillsdale, in 4:38.49, and senior Drew Ransom took third in the 200m dash with a time of 23.12.
As the calendar turns to February, Hillsdale now heads into a series of big meets full of strong regional competition, starting with the Ashland Jud Logan Lightgiver Invite next Friday and Saturday. It's a golden opportunity for the Chargers to put down strong seed times ahead of the G-MAC Championships at the end of Februrary and the NCAA DII Championships in March.