Sophomore thrower Nikita Maines already had the Hilsdale College indoor shot put record.
It was only a matter of time before the Centralia, Illinois native added the outdoor record as well.
That day came on the final day of this year's GINA Relays on Saturday, as Maines captured the shot put title in her home pit with a throw of 14.84 meters, easily breaking the school record of 14.55 meters set by Sarah Monteleone in 2006.
Maines' throw also improved her provisional qualifying mark in the event, and currently stands as the 12th best throw in Division II, giving her a decent shot at making her first outdoor national meet if she continues to improve throughout the final month of the season.
Maines' victory was part of a strong day in the throws for the Chargers. Teammate Peyton Panka took third in the shot put with a throw of 12.19 meters, and Katie Sayles took seventh with a throw of 11.34 meters as well. Emma Shea also took fifth in the discus for Hillsdale with a personal best throw of 37 meters even.
In other field events, Emily Gerdin finished second in the triple jump (11.01 meters) for the Chargers, and Alyssa Viola finished eighth (3.08 meters) in the pole vault.
On the track, Hillsdale won three of the four contested relays. The Chargers' team of Jillian Roney, Alanna O'Leary, Allison Nimtz and Zalonya Eby took first in the 4x100 relay in a time of 47.66, and O'Leary and Eby also teamed with Dakota Stamm and Shura Ermakov to win the 4x40 relay (3:47.91) as well. Hillsdale also took first in the 4x800 relay (9:33.24) with a team of Vera Thompson, Megan Poole, Lauren Peterson and Gwynne Riley as well.
Hillsdale will be back in action again on its home track this coming Friday, April 30, hosting the Charger Tune-Up meet beginning at noon.
Friday
Hillsdale College junior Kajsa Johansson already has one national title to her name from the 2020-21 Indoor Track and Field season.
On Friday, at Hillsdale's 54th annual GINA Relays, the sprinter ensured she'll get the chance to chase another title in the outdoor season as part of a dominant day for the Charger sprinters.
Johansson ran a scorching fast time of 11.47 to win the 100 meter dash, beating the Division II Automatic Qualifying time and locking up a spot at the NCAA DII National Meet at the end of May.
That's the fastest time in Division II so far this season in the event, and Johansson followed it up by winning the 200m dash in a time of 23.60 -- the second fastest time in Division II in that event and just shy of an auto mark as well.
Johansson wasn't the only standout for the Chargers in a banner day in the sprints. Sophomore Zalonya Eby took second behind Johansson in the 200m dash in 24.57, and was third in the 100m dash in 12.01, just missing provisional qualifying marks in both events.
Freshman Dakota Stamm, meanwhile, was third in the 200m dash in 25.06, and won the 400m dash for the Chargers in a personal best time of 55.96, with teammate Alanna O'Leary just behind her in second place (56.90). Allison Nimtz took sixth in the 100 dash (12.53) as well for the Chargers.
Hillsdale also had a strong showing in the hurdle events. Freshman Shura Ermakov won the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:02.30 for the Chargers, with Judith Allison in second (1:04.20) and Isabella Gutierrez in third (1:04.21).
Louisa Klaserner took third in the 100 hurdles for the Chargers, finishing in 14.80, with Ermakov taking sixth in 15.04 and Grace Gottwalt finishing seventh in 15.05.
Hillsdale also had strong days in the distance events. Maryssa Depies took ninth in the loaded 5,000m Championship, finishing in a Division II Provisional Qualifying time and personal best time of 16:43.16, and Christina Sawyer finished eighth (36:43.63) and Claire McNally ninth (36:52.78) in the 10,000m Championship, with both setting personal bests and just missing the provisional qualifying mark.
In a 3,000 meter steeplechase race that saw 2016 Hillsdale alum Emily Oren shatter the GINA Relay record in a time of 9:55.96, freshman Meg Scheske took eighth, set a new personal record and improved her provisional qualifying time to 10:46.56, good for seventh in Division II in the event.
Hillsdale also had a solid day in the field events. Eden Little led a 2-4-6 finish in the javelin, throwing 39.81 meters, and Peyton Panka took fourth (37.52 meters) and Emma Shea sixth (35.03 meters).
Emily Gerdin took fourth in the long jump (5.33 meters), Alexie Day finished fifth in the high jump (1.53 meters) and Katie Sayles took fifth in the hammer throw (46.86 meters as well for Hillsdale.
Action continues on Saturday at the GINA Relays with several relay races, as well as more field events.
Photo by Summer Fields
