In its first full squad meet of the 2024 outdoor season, the Hillsdale College men's track and field team put on a strong showing at the Lee University Invite in Tennessee.
In the first week of the season, Hillsdale set three NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks, broke two meet records and won three events with numerous athletes placing in competition on Friday and Saturday.
In the field, sophomore Ben Haas impressed in his first action since repeating as an All-American earlier this month indoors at the NCAA DII Championships. Haas had a massive PR in the hammer throw, setting a Lee Invite record with a mark of 64.32 meters. The mark is the third furthest throw in NCAA DII competition outdoors to date, and puts Haas in a strong position to make it to the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships for the first time in his career.
Haas also set a provisional mark in the shot put with a runner-up finish, throwing a new personal best of 16.95 meters that currently ranks eighth in Division II. Teammate Matthew Belanich was runner-up with a personal best throw of 55.29 meters in the weight throw as well, while freshman Jackson Childress took third in the discus with a personal best throw of 43.64 meters, and fellow freshmen Tommy Flud and Ethan Dorrell finished second (54.42 meters) and fourth (48.47 meters), respectively, in the javelin.
On the track, 2023 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships qualifier Richie Johnston showed why he is likely to make a return trip to the event in 2024, setting the Lee Invite record and running the eighth-fastest time to date in NCAA DII in the steeplechase with a winning time of 9:11.95. Teammate Alex Mitchell took third in 9:20.81.
Elsewhere on the track, senior hurdler Sean Fagan earned a pair of runner-up finishes, taking second in the 110 hurdles in a time of 14.71, and second in the 400m hurdles in a time of 56.04. Sophomore Colsen Conway also placed in both events for the Chargers, taking seventh in the 400m hurdles in a time of 59.19, and eighth in the 110 hurdles in a time of 15.65.
Hillsdale's men's 4x100 Relay team also put down a solid time to start the season, as the team of Jamahl Burke, Owen Gardner, Drew Ransom and Joseph Ritzer placed fourth in 42.38.
In the jumps, Hillsdale junior Cass Dobrowolski won the high jump title with a clearance of 1.98 meters, while Alfonso Garcia took runner-up honors in the triple jump with a mark of 13.70 meters.
Hillsdale will next compete officially at the MSU Spartans Invite in East Lansing, Michigan on April 5 and 6.