Last year as a freshman competing in his first G-MAC Indoor Championship meet, Ben Haas was a bit of a surprise conference champion for the Hillsdale College men's track and field team in the weight throw.
This year at Ashland, the decorated sophomore left no doubts on his way to a repeat title, setting the standard and breaking both the G-MAC Championship record and his own school record on his second attempt with a mark of 21.88 meters, surpassing Findlay's Austin Combs who had set the previous conference meet record of 21.40 in 2018.
Haas was the only competitor in the weight throw to surpass 21 meters on an attempt and did so three times to ultimately win his second-straight crown by over a meter. Currently ranked second in the nation at the NCAA DII level, Haas now turns his focus to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in March in Pittsburg, Kansas, where he will attempt to unseat defending national champion and current favorite Peyton Barton.
The sophomore was Hillsdale's only Friday men's champion, but several more athletes had strong days for the Chargers. Junior Cass Dobrowolski took fourth in the high jump with a clearance of 2.05 meters, an NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark, though not an improvement on his season best. Sophomore Connor McCormick also took fourth in the pole vault for the Chargers, clearing 4.91 meters, both a collegiate best for McCormick and a provisional qualifying mark that is tied for 28th nationally in NCAA DII.
On the track, two Hillsdale athletes made it through preliminary heats to set themselves up to potentially score meaningful points in finals on Saturday. Senior Sean Fagan ran a season-best time of 8.24 in the 60m hurdles to qualify for the finals, and fellow senior Benu Meintjes also made it through to the 400 meter finals with a time of 49.15.
Hillsdale will have many more competitors take to the track on Saturday for the final day of competition at the 2024 G-MAC Indoor Championships, looking to add to the Chargers' medal haul on the men's side. Finals will start at 10:30 a.m. with the men's triple jump and with run until 4 p.m. with the meet-ending 4x400m relay. Stay tuned to hillsdalechargers.com tomorrow for full results.
Photo Courtesy of Ashland Athletics