An impressive series of performances on Championship Saturday helped the Hillsdale College women's track team secure third place in a highly competitive 2024 G-MAC Indoor Championship meet at Ashland.
After winning two individual titles on day one, Hillsdale brought home three more crowns on the final day, with a slew of new provisional marks and two school-record breaking performances.
Junior Shura Ermakov, a runner-up in the indoor 400m dash in 2023, left no doubts in 2024 with a blazing performance, becoming the first Chargers woman to go under 55 seconds indoors with a title-winning time of 54.76. That time was nearly a full second faster than the runner-up in the race, and beat Hillsdale College's previous indoor record of 55.06 set by Jazmin Williams in 2006, 18 years prior.
Ermakov now ranks 13th in the nation in the 400m dash with that time, and likely has punched her ticket to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in March in Pittsburg, Kansas.
Along with the 400m title, Ermakov also was a player in the 60m hurdles, a race where another Hillsdale College record fell. Ermakov took third in 8.70 in the 60m hurdles, a personal best and provisional mark, just behind teammate Louisa Klaserner, who was the runner-up in 8.65 seconds.
Klaserner's time, also a personal best, broke Hillsdale's eight-year old school record in the event of 8.66 set by Corinne Zehner in 2016. Klaserner now ranks 22nd in the nation and Ermakov 26th in the 60m hurdles.
Hillsdale also got multiple placers and a G-MAC title in the triple jump, as senior Emily Gerdin, a 2021 G-MAC Indoor champion in the event as a sophomore, hit a mark of 11.92 meters to reach provisional qualifying status and brind home a second career title. Gerdin now ranks 36th in NCAA DII in the event, and she was joined by teammate Grace Chen, who took eighth with a mark of 10.79 meters to score as well for the Chargers.
The last event winner for Hillsdale on Saturday was junior Liz Wamsley, who added to the 5,000m run title she had won the previous night with a victory in the 3,000m run in 9:49.48. It's the second-straight G-MAC title in the event for Wamsley, who now ranks 43rd in NCAA DII in the event. While Wamsley is unlikely to run the 3K at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in March, she will be in the field for the 5,000m run after earning All-American honors in the event in 2023.
Hillsdale had two more events with new provisional marks on Saturday. The Chargers placed three in the pole vault, with junior Kaylee Jackson and sophomore Tara Townsend each clearing 3.91 meters to finish tied for fourth, and sophomore Katie Clifford placing sixth with a new personal best of 3.81 meters. All three athletes are now provisionally qualified for the Chargers, with Jackson and Townsend tied for 19th and right on the bubble for a bid to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in the event, and Clifford currently ranked 31st.
The Chargers also had three placers in the 800m run, led by junior Reese Dragovich, who finished third in 2:11.61 and also reached a provisional qualifying time in the event, ranking 23rd in NCAA DII. Freshman Zoe Burke took fifth in 2:14.39 for the Chargers, and fellow freshman Megan Roberts placed eighth in 2:15.15 as well.
Hillsdale's 4x400m relay team of Josee Behling, Francesca Federici, Dragovich and Ermakov placed third in 3:50.48, a provisional qualifying time that ranks 41st nationally as well. In the field, Averi Parker took sixth in the shot put with a mark of 13.68 meters and freshman Amelia Lutz placed seventh with a personal best throw of 13.45 meters, while Reagan Dahlquist placed sixth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.60 meters.
Ashland won the G-MAC title with 148.50 points, and Findlay finished runner-up with 140 points, with the Chargers taking third with 117 points. Hillsdale now turns its focus to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships on March 8 and 9 in Pittsburg, Kansas, with as many as 12 athletes with a shot of qualifying. The field will be announced on Tuesday, February 27 at NCAA.com.
Photo Courtesy of Ashland Athletics