The Hillsdale College men's cross country team got the 2026 campaign off to a strong start on Friday morning, taking eighth against strong competition at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational held at Forest Akers East Golf Course.

Solid pack running helped the Chargers to a good team finish, as Hillsdale was bested only by six NCAA DI schools, including the host Spartans, and a nationally-ranked NCAA DIII program.

The strength of Hillsdale's youth shone through in the results, as underclassmen took the top three spots for the Chargers. Sophomore John Richarson led Hillsdale with a 45th place finish, in 25:46.0, and fellow sophomore Jefferson Regitz was close behind in 54th place and 25:53.1.

In his first collegiate race, freshman Eli Strawbridge placed 58th in 26:04.9 as well for the Chargers, while veteran Caleb Youngstedt took 63rd in 26:11.7. Junior Will Winsor rounded out Hillsdale's scoring runners with a solid time of 26:39.2.

Another freshman, Grant Skorupan, also had a solid debut, placing 107th in 26:55.3, and junior Thomas Holm took 112th in 27:00.5 as well.

With depth to work with, the Chargers will look to continue to build throughout the month of September. Hillsdale travels to Tiffin, Ohio for the G-MAC Preview race on Sept. 25. It'll be an opportunity for the Chargers to get familiar with Tiffin's cross country course, which will host the G-MAC Championship meet later in the campaign on November 7.