One of the Hillsdale College women's track and field team's top competitors unwrapped a nice early Christmas present for herself on Friday afternoon.

Senior Tara Townsend traveled solo to the Akron Haynes Lancaster Open, looking to get one final crack at her signature event, the pole vault, before heading off to Christmas break.

The trip proved more than fruitful for Townsend, as she cleared three bars on the first attempt to set a new personal best clearance of 4.20 meters, and in the process breaking the Great Midwest Athletic Conference indoor record in the event of 4.16 meters held by Morgan England of Findlay since 2021.

Townsend placed second behind defending MAC pole vault champion Cassidy Allen of Akron at the meet, and with the vault moved into the top spot in the nation in NCAA DII to date in the event.

It's the latest in a successful run at Hillsdale for Townsend, who earned her first All-American honor in the pole vault at the 2025 NCAA DII Outdoor Championships this past May. Her latest accomplishment sees her closing in on the indoor program record of 4.25 meters, held by multi-time All-American and Hillsdale College Athletics Hall of Famer Kayla Caldwell since 2013.

Townsend and the Chargers are off for the Christmas break, and will return to Akron for the Al Campbell Invitational for their first meet back in action on Jan. 16.