In one of the biggest weekends of the indoor track and field season, the Hillsdale College women's team delivered, recording six new NCAA DII provisional qualifying marks across two days of competition at the GVSU Big Meet and Tiffin Open.
This weekend represented a golden opportunity for the Chargers to lay down season and personal bests as Hillsdale saw some of its most competitive fields of the season at the always stacked GVSU Big Meet on Friday, and more tough competition at Tiffin on Saturday. With two weeks remaining to the G-MAC Indoor Championships, the Chargers set themselves up for success with strong performances.
On Friday at GVSU, Hillsdale saw three new provisional qualifying marks. Returning All-American and junior Liz Wamsley excelled in her first 5K of the indoor season, placing fourth in one of the toughest fields in the country with a provo time of 16:30.65 that was one second off her lifetime best in the event. Wamsley is now ranked 14th in NCAA DII in the 5K and has given herself a great chance to return to the national meet in March.
Fellow junior Shura Ermakov also made a provisional qualifying mark in the 400m dash for the Chargers, finishing eighth in a lifetime best time of 55.58 in the event. That seeds Ermakov 20th in NCAA DII in the event currently, putting her on the bubble with two weeks to improve her standing.
Last, but not least, Ermakov teamed up with Josee Behling, Francesca Federici and Reese Dragovich to finish 12th in the 4x400m relay in 3:53.28, also earning a provisional qualifying time in the event. Hillsdale's first 4x400m effort currently ranks 36th in the nation in the relay, and will get a chance to improve on that time at the G-MAC Championships in two weeks.
Along with those new provisional marks, several more Chargers exceeded provisional standards at GVSU, but didn't improve on previous best marks in the season. Three Chargers placed in the top eight in the weight throw, with Katie Sayles taking fourth (17.96m), Averi Parker taking sixth (17.83m) and Katie Weldy taking seventh (17.53m). Junior Reagan Dahlquist also tied her season best with a clearance of 1.67 meters to take second in the high jump.
Hillsdale traveled the following day to Tiffin, Ohio for the Tiffin Open, where the Chargers' weight throw crew had a breakthrough day. Both Weldy and Parker had lifetime bests to improve their provisional qualifying marks in the event, with Weldy throwing 18.39 meters to take second, and Parker throwing 18.19 meters to take third. Weldy now ranks 15th in NCAA DII in the weight throw and Parker ranks 16th, giving both a solid chance of reaching the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in March.
In addition to those two performances, senior Eden Little threw over the provisional mark in the weight throw for the first time in her career with a mark of 17.21 meters, and currently ranks 36th in NCAA DII in the event.
Parker also took second for the Chargers in the shot put, with a throw of 13.89 meters that exceeded the provisional mark but didn't improve on her best throw in the event this year, while Amelia Lutz took fourth with a personal best mark of 12.88 meters. Ameera Wilson also ran a personal best in the 600m dash for Hillsdale of 1:42.34 to take second, and Louisa Klaserner won the 60m hurdles with a season best time of 8.89.
Hillsdale next hosts its annual Tune-Up meet next Saturday, Feb. 17. It's the final chance for the Chargers to get marks in ahead of the G-MAC Indoor Championships in Ashland on Feb. 23 and 24.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan