The Charger track team will travel to Birmingham, Ala. to compete in the NCAA Division II Championships at the Birmingham CrossPlex on March 7 through March 9. The women’s team will take six athletes and the men’s team will bring three competitors.
This year’s championship is a festival, meaning that the championships for swimming, diving, and wrestling will take place at the same time as track. Prelims for track and field, however, will take place on March 7 and 8, and championships will be held on March 9.
Junior Maurice Jones said that the training engineered by head women’s coach Andrew Towne will allow the Chargers to peak at championships, giving them an advantage over other athletes who have run their best times at previous meets.
Jones, currently ranked third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.34, is competing at championships for the second time.
“Last year I felt like it was a fluke that I got in,” he said. “This year I want to show that I can compete with the number one runner, or be the number one runner even.”
Jones’s placement helps motivate the team, sophomore Matt Perkins said.
“Mo auto-ed in his event, and we are all really pumped,” he said. “When you go knowing you have one of the top guys in the country, it’s a confidence booster.”
Perkins will compete for the first time at the Division II national championships in the mile in the ninth slot with a time of 4:09.13.
“I’m most nervous about making finals,” he said. “That will be the hardest part, but then making an All-American spot won’t be that hard.”
Senior Kayla Caldwell will compete in the pole vault as the second-place seed. The Tuscarawas, Ohio native won second at nationals in 2012 and has received five All-American titles from both indoor and outdoor track. She also holds the Hillsdale record for pole vault in both seasons at 13-1 and ½ and 13-3 and ½, respectively.
“My experience as a senior just helped me understand what to do and what not to do from past mistakes,” she said. “It makes me stay focused because I know this is my last year in college so it’s my last year to accomplish anything on the NCAA level.”
Junior John Banovetz and senior Kathy Dirksen will both compete in the weight throw on Thursday. Banovetz is ranked 11th and at the GLIAC Championships threw a career best in the shot put and also scored points for the Chargers in the weight throw. Dirksen competes in the 17th slot for prelims and holds the Charger record for the 20-pound weight throw at 61-3.
The Chargers will also compete in the women’s distance medley relay. The team consists of senior Erin Benjamin, junior Victoria McCaffrey, sophomore Amy Kerst, and freshman Emily Oren. After placing first in the DMR at the GLIAC Championships, the relay team is ranked 12th for the Alabama meet.
The two underclassmen, Oren and Kerst, will also compete in individual events. Kerst will participate in the 800-meter run and Oren will run the mile for the Chargers.
“Due to the women’s team’s size, we’ve had to rely on the younger classmen a lot more,” Towne said. “Emily has stayed consistent in her training. Amy has improved a lot this year.”
Despite the seriousness of competing for national titles, the Chargers hope to have some fun in Birmingham. Jones said the meet gives him the opportunity to get to know teammates that he does not train with.
For Caldwell and Benjamin, championships has special significance.
“I’m really excited that I get to share my last indoor national meet with one of my best friends, Erin Benjamin, because we also shared our very first indoor national meet experience together freshman year,” Caldwell said.
