More than 900 runners flocked to Hillsdale College last weekend to compete in the second-ever college track meet held in the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center.
The large number of runners forced meet organizers – the Hillsdale coaches – to get creative. Athletes were not allowed to set up their camps in Biermann to avoid crowding around the track, as well as potential accidents on the track.
“There were some issues with space, but overall I think things turned out pretty well,” said senior Matt Van Egmond, who volunteered at the meet.
Teams made camps in the racquetball court rooms in Roche Sports Complex and in Jesse Philips Arena.
To keep congestion in Biermann manageable, the coaches instituted what coach Andrew Towne called “an elaborate clerking system.”
The athletes for a given event gathered in Jesse Philips 15 to 20 minutes before they were to compete, at which point a student-volunteer armed with a megaphone herded them into Biermann.
Coaches said the system worked smoothly.
The Hillsdale Wide Track Classic hosted nearly 50 teams of all three NCAA divisions, as well as several from the NAIA.
It is the second largest meet to be held in the conference this season, second only to Grand Valley State University’s Big Meet, and one of the largest indoor meets to be held in the Midwest this year.
Meets like this take a cooperative effort on a, relative for Hillsdale, massive scale. The coaches recruited volunteers from around campus to help them put it on.
“It’s definitely a whole college endeavor when we have a meet like this,” coach Jeff Forino said. “If we didn’t have help from the general student body, the sororities, other teams, it wouldn’t go.”
“The meet is a great example of how Hillsdale operates,” Towne said.
