Senior Kajsa Johansson and junior Nikita Maines have already left a pretty big mark on the Hillsdale College women's track and field program.
You can add their performances at Friday's Wide-Track Classic, hosted by the Chargers at their Biermann Center, to the long list.
Both Johansson and Maines reset school records they already held to win events in Friday's meet, which was scaled down from past editions of the Wide-Track Classic, but still featured several excellent times.
Johansson, already the school-record holder in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.61 set at the 2020 G-MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, broke that mark to win Friday's 60 meter dash event in 7.60.
The senior's time gives her a NCAA Division II National meet provisional qualifying mark in a third event, after previously achieving marks in the 200 meter dash and as a member of the 4x400 meter relay as well. Her time of 7.60 is tied for the seventh fastest in Division II so far this season in the event.
Maines, meanwhile, entered Friday having already broken her own Hillsdale record in the shot put the previous week, not only reset the record again, but shattered her own mark, winning the event with a throw of 14.77 meters that was over a foot longer than her previous career best. Maines also threw a new season best of 17.42 meters to win the weight throw as well.
Both Maines' shot put and weight throw marks were provisional qualifying marks. Maines is currently tied for fifth in Division II in the shot put with her latest mark, and is 15th in the weight throw.
While Johansson and Maines had the most notable performances, they were far from the only Chargers to have strong performances on Friday. Senior Calli Townsend won the 400m dash for the Chargers in a new personal best time of 1:00.87, freshman Louisa Klaserner won her first-ever pentathlon with 2,621 points, taking first in the long jump and 60m hurdle portions, and junior Alexie Day took first in the high jump with a clearance of 1.54 meters.
Two other Charger freshmen posted personal bests in the event, as Vera Thompson took second in the mile run with a time of 5:21.09, and Morgan Iverson took second in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.36 meters.
Hillsdale also got runner-up finishes from Dakota Stamm in the 200m dash (26.02) and Shura Ermakov in the 60m hurdles (9.24).
GVSU Snowdown Showdown
The Hillsdale College women's track team sent its provisionally qualified 4x400 relay to Allendale, Michigan on Saturday to challenge a loaded field at the GVSU Snowdown Showdown, and that proved to be a fruitful decision.
The Charger team of Shura Ermakov, Dakota Stamm, Alanna O'Leary and Kajsa Johansson set a new season-best in a runner-up finish behind the host Lakers, finishing in 3:48.47.
That time is the second fastest mark in Division II in the 4x400 relay to date, behind only the Lakers in the event.
Hillsdale will return to GVSU next Friday for the two-day GVSU Big Meet for its next event.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop