Hillsdale College is excited to play host to a conference cross country championship meet for the first time in over a decade this Saturday morning, as the Chargers welcome their G-MAC competitors to Hayden Park just east of the main Hillsdale College campus. The newly redesigned course will be the site of a battle for two hotly contested team championships as several contenders look to bring home a conference crown.
 
Schedule
2024 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, Saturday Oct. 26 | women race at 10:30 a.m. and men race at 11:30 a.m. | Hayden Park, Hillsdale, Michigan
 
Links

Live Results | Championship Page | Tickets
 
Information

Top 20 finishers in each race will receive All-G-MAC honors, with top 10 finishers earning first-team honors, and G-MAC Runner, Coach and Freshman of the Year awards will also be given out, as well as the Elite 26 Award for both genders...Fans will be permitted to attend and can purchase tickets on the G-MAC website at the link above for $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. There will be no cash sales for tickets on the day of the event; all tickets must be purchased electronically…Spectators will be asked to adhere to signage placed around the course... Assorted championship merchandise will be sold on site. Debit or credit card purchases will be preferred.

Men's Preview

A veteran crew of runners for the Hillsdale College men's cross country team has the Chargers gunning for their best G-MAC finish since a runner-up performance in 2019.

Hillsdale took sixth in the G-MAC Championships in 2023 against a tough field, and the challenge remains with many strong programs in the mix again in 2024. Four-time defending champion Walsh has won five of the last six G-MAC titles on the men's side, and is a strong contender again, ranked 30^th in the nation. The Cavaliers are led by returning All-G-Mac honorees Mitchel Dunham and Xavier Foehl, and have a strong pack that includes sophomores Theo and Spiro Papas as well as juniors Alex Keller and Kyle Woods.

Although Walsh is the defending champion, they might be a slight underdog to Findlay, who enters ranked 25^th in the nation and is led by defending G-MAC Champion Noah Fisher. Along with a fellow stellar runner in Jordan Foster, Findlay has a chance to go 1-2 in Saturday's race individually, which will make them tough to beat as a team.

Other teams in the mix include Tiffin, who return a strong pair in graduate students Talel Khalfi and Dalton Gleeson, Northwood, led by 2023 All-G-MAC honorees Preston Earl and Carson Laney, and Cedarville, which always shows up with a strong contingent for championship season.

While Hillsdale is currently ranked third among G-MAC teams in the Midwest Region behind Findlay and Walsh by the USTFCCCA, the Chargers should be in the mix for the title thanks to the strength of their pack. Multi-year veterans Richie Johnston, Ross Kuhn, Donny McArdle and Nathaniel Osborne all have extensive race experience and give Hillsdale a strong baseline, while the team has been boosted by the arrival of Lansing Community College transfer Gabriel Phillips and the emergence of sophomore Caleb Youngstedt. A strong freshman class also could break through to help contribute on Saturday. The Chargers already have a meet title under their belt at the Warrior Challenge on Sept. 13, and were a close second to 22^nd-ranked UC-Colorado Springs at the Lucian Rosa Invite on Sept. 28.
 
 
Women's Preview

The Hillsdale College women should be in line for a strong finish in this Saturday's championship meet on their home course, as young faces have made the Chargers a solid team with depth entering the postseason.

Cedarville, the two-time defending champion and currently the 26^th-ranked team in the nation, remains the overwhelming favorite as the Yellow Jackets have reloaded despite heavy graduation losses. Junior Corinne Lynch has a race win at the UAH Invite on Oct. 12 and the fastest 6K time in the G-MAC this season, and with veteran Emily Walsh and young talent in Abby Drosdak and Alyson Enns, Cedarville has the potential to put up a very low score on Saturday.

A crowded group of challengers waits behind Cedarville, as Walsh, Findlay and the host Chargers are all very similar in times. The Cavaliers have a strong pack led by returning first-team All-G-MAC honoree Camryn Barker, as well as strong times from Claire Rethman, Alyssa Stoner and Bella Graham. Findlay boasts returning All-G-MAC honoree Ava Beam along with veterans Sarah Reinhart, Hailey Wilson and Taylor Ward. Tiffin also could be feisty with top individuals in sisters Ines and Greta Macadam that could potentially lower their score.
 
The Chargers have leaned heavily on a strong group of young talent with great results so far, including runner-up finishes to nationally ranked teams at the Warrior Challenge and Lucian Rosa Invite. A pair of freshman have led the way for Hillsdale in Evyn Humphrey and Allison Kuzma, both of whom should challenge for All-G-MAC honors, and returning All-G-MAC honoree Savannah Fraley has a shot at repeating as well. To have a shot in the team race, Hillsdale will look to an impressive group of sophomores – Eleanor Clark, Anna Stirton, and Megan and Anna Roberts – to give Hillsdale the pack it needs to compete with the top teams in the G-MAC. The Chargers are looking to better a fourth-place finish at the 2023 G-MAC Championships.