With championship season fast closing in, the Hillsdale College men's track and field team put together a strong showing at two large invitationals this past weekend.
Hillsdale ran against the strongest field it might see all season at Friday's GVSU Big Meet, which brought top talent in from around the country, and the next day the Chargers traveled to Tiffin, Ohio to race in the Tiffin Open as well.
Leading the way was sophomore Ben Haas, who won the weight throw both at the prestigious Big Meet with a throw of 21.41 meters, and in Tiffin with a throw of 21.71 meters. While neither throw improves on his top mark this season of 21.43 meters that ranks third in NCAA DII, both performances are a sign of consistency for the returning All-American in the event.
Also at GVSU on Friday, junior Cass Dobrowolski took sixth with a NCAA DII provisional qualifying clearance of 2.03 meters in the high jump, though it didn't improve his best mark on the season in the event.
On the track, Joseph Ritzer ran a personal best in the 400m dash of 49.95, finishing just behind teammate Benu Meintjes who finished in 49.55.
Both men also teamed up with Sean Fagan and Colsen Conway to run a competitive 4x400m relay, finishing 11th at GVSU in a season best time of 3:20.73.
In other events at GVSU, Alex Mitchell ran a season best time of 14:52.53 in the 5K to finish 20th in the fastest heat of the event, and Ross Kuhn ran a lifetime best in the mile of 4:12.52 to finish sixth.
On Saturday, at Tiffin, Hillsdale earned several runner-up finishes to go with Haas' victory in the weight throw. Senior Drew Ransom took runner-up in the 200m dash with a time of 22.81, while Justin Doughty finished second in the 600m dash with a lifetime best of 1:31.31.
Senior Sean Fagan took second in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.51, just ahead of Colsen Conway, who placed third with a time of 8.55.
Emil Schleuter ran a personal best in the mile run to take fifth in 4:34.86, and Connor McCormick took fifth in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.61 meters.
Hillsdale next hosts its annual Tune-Up meet next Saturday, Feb. 17. It's the final chance for the Chargers to get marks in ahead of the G-MAC Indoor Championships in Ashland on Feb. 23 and 24.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan