The Hillsdale College Chargers traveled to the University of Cincinnati over the weekend for the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational. As a team, Hillsdale finished 10th overall among 16 NCAA Division I and II schools, including Cincinnati, Ball State University, and Xavier University.
In the field, two freshmen set personal bests for Hillsdale. Nikita Maines’ 39.68-meter throw in the hammer throw was the best of her collegiate career, and Michaela Burkhauser’s 44.21-meter throw in the discus was also a career-best.
Freshman Alanna O’Leary enjoyed a successful day in the sprints, as she recorded two new personal bests in the 200 and 400 meter dashes. Her time of 58.64 seconds in the 400 earned her 14th place overall, and in the 200 she bested her previous personal record by half a second in 25.71.
“That was the first time I’ve done both the open four and the open two, so to come out with consistently better times that what I ran in indoor really boosted my confidence,” O’Leary said. “It gave me a little bit more excitement for future meets, and also future years.”
That last time junior Abbie Porter competed in the 800 meter run was at the NCAA Division II Indoor National meet in early March. On Saturday, she came out with a strong start to her outdoor season as she finished fifth in 2:11.01.
“It felt really good because the first 400 was as fast as I’d ever gone through as far an 800 goes, so I was like 62 high, and then I was able to hold that through 600,” Porter said. “The last 200 I kinda ran out of juice, which stinks, but also it was my third fastest time ever, and by far my best opener by seven seconds.”
Two other Chargers had fifth-place finishes in the track. Sophomore Kajsa Johannson finished fifth in the 100 meter dash with a 12.25-second performance. Sophomore Calli Townsend ran the 400 meter hurdles in 1:03.35 to finish fifth.
This weekend, Hillsdale hosts the Hillsdale Invitational on Saturday. Field events begin at noon, with track events following at 2 p.m.
