The Hillsdale College women's cross country team did its part on Saturday with a strong performance at the 2021 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship.
Now, all the Chargers can do is wait to see if it was enough to secure the team's ninth-straight NCAA Division II Championship appearance.
Hillsdale placed 7th in a highly competitive field that included six teams ranked in the most recent USTFCCCA Division II top 25.
Leading the way for the Chargers, freshman Liz Wamsley dropped another 40 seconds from her race at the GMAC Conference Championships on Oct. 23 to run a personal record of 21:09 in the 6k distance, placing 7th overall and earning All-Region honors. It was the highest finish by a Charger in the Midwest Regional since All-American Arena Lewis in 2018. With her performance, Wamsley has an excellent chance of being selected as one of eight individual at-large qualifiers to compete at the NCAA National Championship on Nov. 20 in St. Leo, Florida.
Next across the line for Hillsdale were sophomore Meg Scheske, who ran a time of 21:42 to capture 27th overall, and sophomore Gwynne Riley, finishing in 22:03 to place 47th. Both Chargers also improved on their GMAC Championship races, with Scheske putting forward a personal best and Riley shaving over 20 seconds off of her previous performance.
Freshman Vera Thompson also finished with a new personal record, crossing the line fourth for the Chargers and 53rd overall with a time of 22:11.6. Just behind her was junior Claire McNally, who finished in 22:11.9 to round out the scoring top five for Hillsdale.
Freshman Abby Scherer also put forward a personal best, running 22:16 to capture 58th overall. Sophomore Natalie Martinson crossed in 23:38, just shy of her personal record, to round out Hillsdale's seven runners and finish 127th overall.
Grand Valley captured the meet title with 40 points, well in front of runners-up Southern Indiana with 110. Saginaw Valley, Lewis, Walsh, and Hillsdale all finished within 13 points of each other. Hillsdale finished with 188, just 6 points behind conference rival Walsh. With this finish, the Chargers still have chance of being selected as an at-large qualifier to compete at the NCAA DII National Championship, which will be held in St. Leo, Florida, in two weeks.
Ten teams are selected as additional qualifiers for the meet, and the Midwest Region has a history of taking the lion's share of those spots. In 2019, the last time the NCAA National Championships were held, five teams from the Midwest Region earned at-large bids, giving the region eight total representatives in the Championship meet. If that pattern holds in 2021, the Chargers are likely in the field. But Hillsdale won't know for sure until the at-large qualifiers are announced on Monday, Nov. 8.
Written by Allison Nimtz '23
Photo by Elizabeth Randolph, USI Photography & Multimedia