A championship didn't come easily for the Hillsdale College women's track and field team this weekend at the G-MAC Outdoor Championships.
That made victory all the sweeter in the end.
In a team race that came down to the final event, the Chargers edged out defending G-MAC Outdoor Champion Ashland 219.5 to 214 to bring home Hillsdale's first crown since 2022 in the meet held on the Hillsdale College campus at the Jim and Sallie McGinnis Track and Field Facility. Hillsdale's 219.5 points are the most by a G-MAC Outdoor champion since Cedarville in 2016.
The Chargers' 4x400m relay team sealed the victory. Needing just a sixth-place finish to ensure Ashland couldn't catch the Chargers in the standings, Hillsdale's team of
Francesca Federici,
Evelyn Overlease,
Jessica Church and
Anna Roessner took third in 3:50.79.
Hillsdale led by 50 points entering the final day but had to hold off a huge push by the Eagles over Friday's events to claim the crown. The Chargers held on thanks to a strong across-the-board showing, with points from nearly every part of the team to take home the crown.
It started in the throws on Friday for the Chargers, as Hillsdale freshman
Sofia Boonzaaijer, who would later be named G-MAC Co-Freshman of the meet, took her first G-MAC crown with a discus throw of 47.33 meters. The Chargers got another top finish in the discus from sophomore
Amelia Lutz, whose throw of 44.30 meters would be enough to take fourth and lock up G-MAC Field Athlete of the Meet honors as well for the hammer throw and shot put champion. Freshman
Isabel Rozeveld took eighth for Hillsdale as well with a throw of 41.34 meters.
One of the biggest swings on the day for Hillsdale came in the triple jump, where veterans
Katie Kennedy and
Erika Mogelvang greatly outperformed their seeds with massive personal bests to provide crucial unexpected points for the Chargers. Kennedy jumped 11.37 meters, moving into fifth all-time in the event outdoors in Hillsdale College history, to place fourth, and Mogelvang was right behind her with a jump of 11.36 meters, moving her into sixth all-time at Hillsdale and placing fifth in the meet.
On the track, sophomore
Allison Kuzma delivered a big blow for the Chargers with her second title of the meet, running away with the 5,000m run championship in an outdoor personal best of 16:37.34. That time moves her into sixth all-time at Hillsdale in the event outdoors and is a NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark ranking 21st nationally. Teammate
Eleanor Clark picked up critical points as well, winning a footrace to the line to take third place in the 5K in 17:16.47.
Hillsdale also had a strong day in the sprints and hurdles. Freshman
Anna Roessner earned a runner-up finish in the 100m dash (11.78) and a third-place finish in the 200m dash (24.46) to score big points, while teammate
Lucy Minning took third in the 100 dash (11.98) and fifth in the 200 dash (24.81) as well.
The Chargers had two scorers in the 100m hurdles, as
Sarah Chappelle took third with a time of 14.39, and
Baelyn Zitzmann placed sixth in a personal best time of 14.66, moving her up to ninth all-time in the event in Hillsdale College history. The finish was part of a big week for Zitzmann, who won the heptathlon on Thursday and also took fifth in the high jump on Friday with a clearance of 1.63 meters. Mogelvang also scored in the high jump with a tie for eighth place and a clearance of 1.58 meters.
Hillsdale had two placers in the 400m dash, as Federici took seventh in 56.88 and Overlease eighth in 57.42 to score points for Hillsdale.
Megan Roberts took sixth in the 800m run for the Chargers in 2:15.60,
Savannah Fraley placed seventh in the 1,500m run in 4:46.02, and
Johana Krutzik took eighth in the 400m hurdles in a personal best time of 1:06.57.
With the conference championship secured, Hillsdale now heads into Last Chance week looking to get as many athletes to the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships beginning on May 21, 2026 as possible. The Chargers have nine athletes and a relay that currently possess provisional qualifying marks and will move across the Midwest next week to try and improve their chances, starting with a home Last Chance Meet on May 6.
