On their home course at Saturday's 2024 G-MAC women's cross country championship meet, two Hillsdale College freshmen showed that experience might be overrated when it comes to success in big collegiate championship races.

In their first ever G-MAC championship, Chargers Evyn Humphrey and Allison Kuzma dominated, taking the top two spots on the podium with impressive races to lead a Hillsdale effort that saw the Chargers place third as a team. 

It's the second straight year Hillsdale has had the individual G-MAC women's champion, as Humphrey follows in the footsteps of senior Liz Wamsley who took the crown last year. 

Both athletes ran an intelligent race, pacing themselves early before bearing down and seizing control at the front after the halfway mark. Humphrey, who has two prior race wins this season and hasn't finished lower than fourth in an event, won in a collegiate best time of 21:33.8, earning both G-MAC Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors. Kuzma was close behind at the finish line, surging from back in the pack to take runner-up honors in a personal best time of 21:37.7.

As a team, Hillsdale scored 85 points to improve on its 2023 finish, with Walsh claiming the team title over Cedarville in a close race just ahead of the Chargers. Sophomore Savannah Fraley earned second-team All-G-MAC honors for the second straight season with a 17th place finish in 22:29.1, while fellow sophomore Eleanor Clark placed 32nd in a personal best time of 23:03.8 and senior Kayla Loescher took 42nd in 23:34.1 to round out Hillsdale's scoring runners.

Sophomore Anna Stirton finished 51st in 23:45.4 and fellow sophomore Anna Roberts was 52nd in a PR of 23:50.5 to also place for Hillsdale.

Hillsdale now turns its focus to the NCAA DII Midwest Regional on Saturday, Nov. 9 in Chicago, Illinois. The Chargers will hope to contend for an at-large bid to the NCAA DII National Championships in Sacramento, California at the end of November with a strong performance in the regional, while both Humphrey and Kuzma could be in contention to advance as individuals to the national championship if the team falls short.