Senior Ben Haas had a record-breaking performance for the Hillsdale College men's track and field team in one of the most loaded hammer throw fields in the country at the Al Owens Invitational this weekend.

Ten athletes competing in Friday's hammer throw competition in Allendale threw past the NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark, and the top three finishers all ranked in the top four in the nation in the event at the day's end.

In a loaded field, Haas, the defending NCAA DII hammer throw champion, took third with a career best throw of 67.36 meters, breaking his own school record of 67.21 meters set last season. That mark ranks fourth in NCAA DII currently and is the sixth-farthest throw in Great Midwest Athletic Conference history. 

Haas also took fourth for Hillsdale in the shot put with a mark of 17.01 meters to lead a strong day in the throws for Hillsdale. Also competing in the hammer throw invitational, freshman Dominic Scharer placed ninth with a throw of 57.02 meters, while in the open hammer throw competition, Dimitry Ermakov placed fourth with a personal best mark of 55.86 meters, Matthew Belanich placed fifth with a throw of 53.90 meters, and Magnus Heckel also threw a new personal best of 52.77 meters to place sixth.

In the open shot put competition, Hillsdale's Yahli Salzman placed fifth with a throw of 14.81 meters, a new outdoor personal best and the ninth-furthest shot put throw outdoors in Hillsdale history. Jackson Childress also placed 10th in the discus with a throw of 46.56 meters.

In other field event action for the Chargers, freshman Luan Kummle placed sixth in the long jump with a personal-best lead of 6.68 meters, and Connor McCormick took seventh in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.52 meters.

On the track, freshman John Richardson set a new personal best in the 1,500m run of 3:56.46 to place seventh, while fellow freshman Henry Thuet also set a new personal record of 3:59.80 in the event to place 18th, just ahead of teammate Jefferson Regitz in 19th in 3:59.95.

Jack Polizzi took seventh in the 400m dash in 49.56, ahead of teammate Zealand Tarrant in 11th in 50.31, and Sam Jones placed ninth in the 200m dash in 22.29, edging out Wyatt Widolff in 12th in 22.39. Jones also placed 16th in the 100m dash in 11.02.

Next up for the Chargers is a return to their home track for the 56th annual GINA Relays, beginning on April 16. A highlight of the Hillsdale College track and field calendar with a long history of strong competition, the meet will take place over three days from April 16-18 out at Hayden Park on the Hillsdale College campus.