The Hillsdale College men's track and field team opened up a frenzied final week of competition to try and qualify for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships at its home track on Wednesday, hosting Hillsdale's annual Last Chance Meet.
Hillsdale had several strong performances, though no new or improved provisional marks in the competition. Leading the way was junior
Ben Haas, who remains the top mark in NCAA DII in the hammer throw. Haas took second on Wednesday behind professional thrower and past NCAA DII National Champion Austin Combs, with a throw of 66.14 meters, a provisional qualifying mark but short of his nation-leading best throw of 67.21 meters this season. Haas also placed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 16.04 meters.
The Chargers got another runner-up finish in the pole vault from junior
Connor McCormick, who cleared 4.71 meters to take second, while on the track Hillsdale had four of the top five placers in the 5,000m run, led by a 1-2 finish from
Zach Self in a collegiate best time of 15:49.55 and
Daniel Johnson in a collegiate best time of 15:55.62.
Thomas Holm also took fourth in 16:58.25 and
Johnathan Dys finished fifth in 17:11.14.
Hillsdale also had four placers in the 800m run, led by senior
Richie Johnston, who took fourth in the 800m run in a personal best time of 1:55.70.
Rhys Woodard placed sixth in 2:01.94 for the Chargers,
Nathaniel Osborne took seventh in a collegiate best of 2:03.23, and
Noah Gazmin placed eighth in a collegiate best time of 2:05.57. Gazmin and Osborne also teamed with
Mark Masaka and
Caleb Youngstedt to place second in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:40.58.
Also for the Chargers,
John Ahrabi was runner-up in the 3,000m steeplechase with a new personal best time of 10:37.23, and Hillsdale had two placers in the long jump, with
Ryan Van Havel taking fifth with a personal best mark of 6.15 meters and
Christian Hinrichs placing sixth in 6.03 meters.
Jackson Childress took sixth in the discus with a throw of 47.01 meters, and
Zealand Tarrant placed eighth in the 400m hurdles with a personal best time of 55.83.
The home meet might be over but the week is just beginning for the Chargers, who will be active through Sunday trying to get athletes qualified for the NCAA DII National Meet. Hillsdale has athletes competing at the University of Michigan on Friday, in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, and at Grand Valley State on Sunday trying to get marks and times that will ensure their spot at the national championships.
Photo by Tiffany Treppa
