In its first meet of 2021 and its first home invitational in almost a full year, the Hillsdale College women's track and field team showed they're still a force to be reckoned with on Friday night.
Hosting two strong programs in Ashland and Findlay at the Biermann Center for an indoor track and field tri-meet, the Charger women displayed their depth and talent, scoring 134 points to the Eagles' 104.5 and the Oilers' 78.5 to earn the victory.
The highlight of the night came in the final race, as Hillsdale's always-strong 4x400 meter relay team of Alanna O'Leary, Dakota Stamm , Shura Ermakov and Kajsa Johansson beat the field by 10 seconds and set an NCAA Division II provisional mark in the process, finishing in 3:54.00.
The relay victory was one of eight event wins for the Charger women on the night. Ermakov, a freshman from Berea, Ohio, was the lone Charger athlete to win two event titles on the night, also winning the 60m hurdles in 9.17 to lead a strong Charger showing in the event.
Hillsdale's victory was built with dominance in the distance races. Senior Calli Townsend won the 800m run in 2:20.17 and sophomore teammate Kaitlyn Rust took second in 2:20.21 as the Chargers swept eight of the top nine spots in the race. In the mile, Hillsdale was similarly dominant, as the Chargers claimed the top six spots with seniors Maryssa Depies (1st, 5:02.61) and Lauren Peterson (2nd, 5:13.09) leading the way, and Hillsdale also took four of the top five spots in the 3,000m run, led by junior Sophia Maeda's 1st place finish (10:06.41).
In the field events, sophomore Emily Gerdin had a strong day for Hillsdale, winning the triple jump with a mark of 11.18 meters, and also taking third in the long jump with a distance of 5.19 meters. Junior Nikita Maines, a national meet qualifier in the indoor shot put last year, won the event on Friday, with a distance of 13.51 meters, and sophomore Alexie Day took second in the high jump with a height of 1.62 meters, matching the event winner from Findlay in height and just getting edged out in total attempts.
Along with Ermakov's strong performance in the 60m hurdles, Hillsdale also got a 1-2 finish from sophomore Judith Allison (1:06.16) and freshman Isabella Gutierrez (1:08.09) in the 400m hurdles in Friday's meet. The Chargers also got runner-up finishes from sophomore Allison Nimtz in the 60m dash (8.10) and Zalanya Eby in the 200m dash (26.26).
Hillsdale will look to keep up its momentum next weekend as it travels to Allendale, Michigan and Grand Valley State University for the Bill Clinger Classic on Friday, Jan. 29.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop