While the Hillsdale College Chargers had a few strong individual performances at last week’s home Conference Crossover, they struggled to find success as a team. Hillsdale finished third of the three schools represented at the meet.
G-MAC rival University of Findlay took the top spot, outscoring the Chargers in team points 183-91, while Northwood University, members of the GLIAC, took second.
While Hillsdale struggled to find a depth of success as a young, developing team, head coach Andrew Towne said he’s confident in the team’s pursuit of excellence.
“We’ve really stressed that there isn’t another 2019 track and field team. This is their team,” Towne said. “There’s a real focus on going through the process of becoming our best.”
In the field events, the Chargers saw improvement from some younger competitors. Most notably, freshman pole vaulter Ben Raffin achieved a Division II provisional mark with a height of 4.73 meters, setting a personal best for the second straight week. That height puts him in position to qualify for the national meet, and was good enough to place second on Friday.
On the track, freshman sprinter John Baldwin took first in the 60 meter hurdles, finishing in 8.50 seconds. Two other Chargers joined him in the top four, with junior Ian Brown taking third in 8.68 and sophomore Ryan Thomsen taking fourth in 8.74.
Hillsdale also put forward a strong effort in the 4×400 meter relay, where seniors Nathan Pando and Levi Wyse joined sophomore Adam Wade and freshman Jacob Schmidt. Wyse ran the fastest split of any competitor in the relay to help spur the team to a first-place finish with a time of 3:29.02.
In the 400 meter dash, Wade finished second with a time of 50.62.
Junior Joey Humes led the Chargers’ effort in the distance events, winning the mile race with a time of 4:16.14.
As the season progresses, Towne said he’ll continue to focus on developing his young team, both on and off the track.
“We’ve had a year-long emphasis on improving culture that’s a constant work in motion, and an emphasis on leadership development.” Towne said, “Those changes have been really palpable, there’s a genuine interest in others and in helping the greater good.”
Hillsdale faces another test this week as they travel to Allendale, Michigan for the GVSU Challenge on Friday. Events begin at 2 p.m.