As the calendar turns from January to February this weekend, another strong showing in the throws and sprints has the Hillsdale College women's track and field team looking eagerly ahead to upcoming championship meets.
The Chargers split squads between Saginaw Valley State's Jet's Pizza Invite and the University of Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational this weekend, with strong performances in both meets.
At the Meyo Invitational,
Amelia Lutz was Hillsdale's lone participant, and the sophomore took an impressive second in a loaded shot put competition against strong NCAA DI competition, with a throw of 15.73 meters.
Hillsdale's throwers also represented well at SVSU.
Olivia Newsome won the weight throw competition with a solid mark of 18.89 meters, but it was her two teammates finishing just behind her in the standings that made the biggest moves. Taking second was
Tori Tyo, whose mark of 18.52 meters was a personal best, the sixth best women's weight throw PR in Hillsdale history, and the 11th best mark in NCAA DII this season. That means Tyo now has a strong possibility of joining both Lutz and Newsome in the competition at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships in March to compete for All-American honors.
Behind Newsome and Tyo,
Regan Wight also had a big personal best of 17.53 meters, setting a provisional mark in the weight throw for the first time in her career, and, now ranking 23rd nationally, also putting her hat in the ring for a shot at NCAA DII national meet qualification.
Hillsdale's sprinters also put on a strong performance on Friday at SVSU.
Anna Roessner,
Lucy Minning and
Sarah Chappelle only raced in preliminary events but all three were among the top competitors in their races. Roessner was the top finisher in the 60m dash prelim with a time of 7.49 and second in the 200m dash prelims with a time of 24.72, while Minning took third in both the 60m prelims (7.77) and 200m prelims (24.88). Chappelle, meanwhile, took sixth in the 60m hurdle prelims with a time of 8.96.
In the 400m dash, Hillsdale's
Francesca Federici took runner-up honors in a season-best time of 57.73, while
Jessica Church finished fourth as well in a time of 59.17.
Aubrie Wilson also represented the Chargers by placing eighth in the pentathlon, with a score of 2,779. Wilson finished fourth among competitors in the high jump (1.53 meters) and fifth in the shot put (9.68 meters).
Hillsdale now heads into a huge weekend of meets. The Chargers will split their squads between Allendale and the Mike Lints Alumni Meet hosted by Grand Valley State, and the Michigan Invitational in Ann Arbor, hosted by the University of Michigan, with both squads hunting records and provisional marks with the G-MAC Championship meet looming a month from now.
