The Hillsdale College men's track and field team traveled across the country the past week, competing in five Last Chance Meets as the Chargers look to qualify as many as possible to the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships at the end of May.

Hillsdale kicked off the week on Wednesday at home in their own Last Chance Meet, with a couple of big marks. Senior Zealand Tarrant took second in the 400m hurdles with a time of 52.96, moving him into the fifth-place spot all-time in the event in Hillsdale College history, and also setting a NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark ranking 57th nationally. Teammate Colsen Conway took fifth in the race in 56.05 and also took third in the 110m hurdles in a personal best time of 14.82, ranking ninth all-time in Hillsdale history in the event.

Hillsdale also got a provisional mark from Thomas Flud in the javelin, as Flud broke his own school record in the event with a throw of 62.80 meters to place second. Flud's mark moved him up to 39th nationally in the NCAA DII rankings.

The Chargers had several other first place finishes. Ben Haas won the hammer throw with a mark of 65.79 meters, Connor McCormick won the pole vault with a clearance of 4.86 meters, and Jackson Childress won the discus with a mark of 48.34 meters.

On the track, John Richardson took first (4:10.61) in the 1,500m run, ahead of teammate Rhys Woodard in second (4:11.25), while Daniel Johnson was first (1:58.07) and Mark Masaka second (1:58.67) in the 800m run. Sam Jones also finished runner-up in the 200m dash in a new personal best time of 21.74, making him the eighth-fastest in Hillsdale history in the event.

Hillsdale then hit the road for several Last Chance Meets. At the Harrison Dillard Twilight hosted by Baldwin-Wallace on Thursday, senior Matthew Belanich had a big personal best throw in the hammer to finish third. His 59.33 meter mark moved him into sixth place all-time at Hillsdale, and up to 33rd in NCAA DII in the national rankings. Dimitry Ermakov took fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 56 meters, and Jackson Childress took second in the discus with a throw of 47.61 meters.

On Friday, McCormick competed at the Fire Invite hosted by Southeastern University in Florida, winning the pole vault with a clearance of 4.90 meters, and on Saturday night, Ross Kuhn ran a 3:44.04 in the 1,500m run at the prestigious Portland Twilight, setting a new season best and just missing his school record time. Kuhn currently ranks 26th in NCAA DII nationally with his new time.

Hillsdale closed out the week on Sunday at the GVSU Last Chance Meet. Jackson Childress set a new season best in the discus with a throw of 51.15 meters, setting a provisional mark that ranks 44th in the nation. Tommy Flud won the javelin with a throw of 58.65 meters, Matthew Belanich took fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 55.13 meters, and Zealand Tarrant placed sixth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 53.66. 

Hillsdale now awaits Tuesday's reveal of the field for the NCAA DII Outdoor Championships, hosted this year by Emporia State and set to start on May 21. All qualifying athletes will compete for national titles and All-American honors at the three-day championship.