The Hillsdale College men’s track and field team had a successful outing at the Grand Valley Big Meet last weekend, as senior Todd Frickey reclaimed the 60 meter school record, the 4×400 relay team won their race and broke the school record, and the distance medley relay team won their event and came within two seconds of the school record.
Frickey’s 6.86 second record-breaking dash marks the third time the school record has improved in the event this season. Although there aren’t many meets left in the indoor track season, short sprints coach Nate Miller is confident that the competition between Frickey and junior Sergio San Jose Lorza will continue to produce fast times.
“It’s been great having those two guys to train together,” Miller said. “They’re both very supportive of one another. They’re both very competitive, but very supportive and very happy when the other person does well, which doesn’t always happen.”
Miller also believes that “it’s very possible” one or both of the 60-meter sprinters will run a time fast enough to qualify for the NCAA Division II National meet in March — most likely 6.79 seconds.
Sophomore David Chase, who often ran on the 4×400 relay last indoor track season, ran the 400 meter leg of the DMR on Saturday. He said he was glad he split a sub-49 second 400 and thought it was cool to run a race with the distance runners.
“I was happy to get the win for Tony Wondaal, Caleb Gatchell, and Tanner Schwannecke,” Chase said.
In addition to the team’s success in the short sprints and relays at the meet, many of the team’s distance and middle-distance athletes ran times good enough or close to being fast enough to get them into the D-II national meet.
Junior Caleb Gatchell ran the mile in 4:11.33, a personal best time as well as a provisional mark for the national meet, though the time still probably isn’t fast enough to get him into the meet.
Sophomore Tony Wondaal ran a personal best time for the second week in a row, this time running the 3K in 8:24.60. Wondaal’s time is also a provisional time, but, based on the depth of the potential 3K field at the national meet this year, it is about 15 seconds too slow to make the national meet.
Junior Joe Newcomb also ran a personal best time, running the 5K in 14:36.76. Like the times run by Gatchell and Wondaal, Newcomb’s time is fast enough to qualify for the national meet, but probably not fast enough to earn him a spot in the meet.
Still, Newcomb believes that if he runs a smart race at the GLIAC Conference Championship on Feb. 27, he’s in good enough shape to run a time that will get him into the national meet.
“I’m feeling pretty good. Workouts have been pretty great and obviously I provo’d for the first time ever last week in indoor track,” Newcomb said. “I wanted to run faster, and based on my training I can run faster than I did last weekend.”
Based off of the improvement his teammates have made this season and looking ahead to the final three meets, Newcomb is confident about what the team can accomplish.
“Overall our whole program on the men’s side is pretty young and we’re really talented,” he said.
This Saturday, starting at noon, the team will compete in their final home indoor track meet of the season at the Hillsdale Tune Up.
