This past weekend Hillsdale hosted the Hillsdale Tune-up on Feb. 22 in the Margot V. Biermann Center.
In their final meet prior to the GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which Hillsdale will host this weekend on March 1 and 2, the men’s and women’s track and field teams ended with several athletes meeting the qualifying marks for the upcoming championship, and even more receiving top positions in various events.
The men’s 4×400 relay team, composed of seniors Matt Raffin, Maurice Jones, and Elliot Murphy, and freshman Ty Etchemendy, continued its strong streak, taking 1st in the event and beating the school record. Raffin also broke his own school record in the 60-meter hurdles and took 3rd place. Senior John Banovetz received a provisional mark and 3rd place in the shot put. Sophomore Matthew Harris also received a provisional mark and 2nd place in the pole vault, and in the weight throw, senior Brett Dailey took 3rd as well as a provisional mark.
Sophomore Nick Shuster took 1st place in the high jump, winning a jump-off, and in the triple jump, Etchemendy took 2nd. Both sophomore Todd Frickey and freshman Joseph Newcomb took 5th in the 60-meter dash and mile run respectively, and in the 200-meter dash, juniors Zachary Meyer and Damian Matthews took 7th and 8th.
“I think the meet went well for everyone across the board,” Shuster said. “The 4×400 relay had such a sweet finish that it’s hard to remember anything (else) that anyone did.”
As for the women’s team, sophomore Corinne Zehner took 2nd in the 60-meter hurdles, breaking the school record, which she had set. She also was part of the women’s 4×400 relay, which with her teammates freshmen Allison Duber and Danielle Gagne, and sophomore Emily Guy, broke the school record and took 2nd.
“Corinne Zehner had a really good week, both on her own in the hurdles and as part of the 4×400 team, breaking the school record and currently ranked 11th in the nation,” women’s head coach Andrew Towne said. “The whole team did a really good job.”
Freshman Alex Whitford took 1st along with a provisional mark in the pole vault, junior Amy Kerst took 1st and a provisional mark in the 800-meter. In the same event, sophomore Shena Albaugh took 3rd, and in the 3000-meter, freshman Molly Oren took 1st. In the long jump, freshman Sarah Benson took 2nd, in the high jump, freshman Dana Newell took 6th, and senior Grace Leutheuser received a provisional mark and 7th place in the weight throw.
“The girls have done a really great job of controlling their approach and their effort, and we have had a really good three weeks,” Towne said. “I think we are really well prepared for the championships this weekend.”