A nearly decade-old school record fell for the Hillsdale College women's track and field team on Friday as the Chargers made their final preparations for next week's G-MAC Outdoor Championships at their home Tune-Up Invite.
Competing in a race that included the current fastest relay team in NCAA DII, the Chargers' 4x100 foursome of
Sarah Chappelle,
Lucy Minning,
Anna Lamoreaux and
Tara Townsend ran a stellar race to finish third in 46.61, surpassing the school record of 46.63 set by Wichman, Zehner, Shea and Moran in 2016. That record is the first woman's outdoor record to fall for Hillsdale in 2025.
The relay record was part of a banner day for the four members of the team.
Lucy Minning took second in the 200m dash with a new personal best of 23.97, bettering her provisional qualifying mark and moving her up to 37th in NCAA DII in the event. Lamroeaux took sixth behind Minning in 25.72.
Townsend, meanwhile, won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.01 meters, a provisional qualifying mark but short of her season best in the event, with teammate
Katie Clifford placing third with a clearance of 3.66 meters. Chappelle also took sixth in the 100m hurdles for the Chargers in a new personal best of 14.58.
Hillsdale also got an event victory from
Averi Parker in the hammer throw, with a mark of 54.88 meters that was a provisional qualifying mark but not an improvement on Parker's season best.
Olivia Newsome took fourth with a throw of 51.37 meters and
Regan Wight took fifth with a mark of 49.46 meters behind Parker, both personal best marks.
The Chargers also got a relay win in the 4x400m relay, with
Francesca Federici,
Reese Dragovich,
Nicole Marshall and
Josee Behling finishing in 3:48.68.
There were several other strong showings on the day for the Chargers. Hillsdale took four of the top five spots in the discus, with
Olivia Newsome taking second in 37.54 meters,
Ella Schafer placing third with a throw of 34.88 meters,
Regan Wight placing fourth with a new personal best throw of 34.12 meters, and
Mackenzie Morrison placing fifth with a throw of 34.11 meters. Wight added a third personal record on the day with a throw of 28.88 meters and an eighth-place finish in the javelin, while Parker took fourth in the shot put with a throw of 13.22 meters.
Also in the field,
Grace Chen took fourth in the triple jump (10.92 meters),
Reagan Dahlquist placed fourth in the high jump (1.60 meters), and
Aubrie Wilson placed fifth in the high jump (1.55 meters).
On the track,
Evelyn Overlease was sixth for the Chargers in the 400m dash in 59.39, with teammate
Lucia Wilson right behind in seventh in a personal best time of 59.69.
Nola Hipkins also took sixth in the 400m hurdles for Hillsdale in 1:05.62, with
Gianna Lodice placing seventh in a personal best time of 1:06.88.
Hillsdale also sent a couple of hammer throwers to the Ashland Alumni Open on Friday. Senior
Katie Sayles took sixth in the Elite Invitational Division with a throw of 53.94 meters, a provisional mark but not an improvement on her season best.
The Chargers now turn their focus to the G-MAC Outdoor Championships, hosted by Ashland over three days from April 30 to May 2. Hillsdale is hoping to better a third-place finish in 2024 with strong contenders in several events.
Photo by Sarah Chappelle
