The Hillsdale College men's track and field team kicked off the first G-MAC Outdoor Championships to be hosted in Hillsdale since 2018 with a handful of athletes competing in events on Wednesday.
In the hammer throw, sophomore Matthew Belanich led the Chargers by making the finals of the event, and finishing just outside the points in ninth place with a best throw of 53.20 meters. Isaac Doughty also placed 21st for the Chargers in the hammer throw with a mark of 41.88 meters.
Three Hillsdale men also competed in the 10,000m run to cap the first day of competition. Freshman Caleb Youngstedt placed 17th with a time of 33:25.99, and teammates Caleb Oser and Donny McArdle were close behind, with Oser finishing 20th in 33:53.54, and McArdle placing 21st in 34:00.40.
Junior Ryan Van Havel also competed in the first five events of the men's decathlon for the Chargers on Wednesday. Halfway through the competition, Van Havel sits in ninth with 2,388 points, just one spot away from scoring for the Chargers if he can put together a strong finish in the final five events on Thursday. Van Havel's best performance was in the high jump, where he took seventh with a clearance of 1.61 meters.
Hillsdale will get back in action tomorrow at 9 a.m. at Hayden Park with the conclusion of the multis, and running and field events to follow at 2 p.m.
Photo by Reva Ludwig