At Grand Valley State University this past Saturday, the Hillsdale College women’s track team laid down impressive personal records and took a step in the right direction towards conference.
“We still certainly have more to do, but that meet was really useful for us,” head coach Andrew Towne said.
In the field, sophomore Alexie Day jumped 1.55 meters to take fourth place in high jump, and Carlin MacDonald-Gannon competed well in the long jump. She ended eighth with a leap of 4.90 meters and triple jumped to 10th place, jumping 10.05 meters.
Sophomore Nikita Maines competed well in the throws as she has all season. She threw 13.82 meters in the shot put and placed second. In the weight throw she came in sixth with a throw of 16.09 meters.
“My performance was an average one, but it was a stepping stone in the right direction,” Maines said. “Right now I’m sitting in a really good position for some big things to come together. I just have to stay focused and keep my mind on the goal.”
Sophomore Michaela Burkhauser placed sixth in the shot put throwing 12.37 meters, with freshman teammate Katie Weldy finishing in 11th with a mark of 11.67 meters. Burkhauser finished 11th in weight throw as well, throwing for 15.29 meters. Weldy threw for 13.60 meters to take 16th.
On the track, freshman Allison Nimtz set a personal best in the 60 meter dash. She finished eighth with a time of 8.13 seconds.
Junior Kajsa Johansson ran a strong race in the 200 meter dash and ended third with a time of 25.01 seconds.
In the 400 meter dash, freshman Dakota Stamm set an impressive personal best, shaving almost two seconds off her previous best. She ran for a second place finish with a time of 56.59 which is .06 a NCAA Division II Provisional Mark.
“My time is finally dropping in the 400 to where I want it,” Stamm said. “There’s definitely room for improvement still. We haven’t peaked yet, and we don’t want to do that until later in the season.”
Towne said he was pleased with Stamm’s performance, which earned her the team’s athlete of the meet award.
“That was a really solid effort from her in the 400. She’s a very talented freshman,” he said.
Junior Calli Townsend ran the 800 meter dash in 2:17.73 and took fifth place.
And in the mile race, Hillsdale placed four women in the top fifteen. Senior Arena Lewis led the Chargers with a seventh place finish and a time of 5:02.45. Freshman Gwynne Riley, who ran as a teammate of Stamm’s in high school, set a personal record in the mile ending ninth with a time of 5:04.72.
Towne said he was impressed with her performance.
“She was our Excellence Award winner,” he said. “There’s a lot more she can do but she’s coming along really nicely.”
Junior Maryssa Depies ran 5:06.08 to take 10th place. She was followed by Christina Sawyer and Claire McNally who took 12th and 13th, respectively.
In the 60 meter hurdles, junior Carmen Botha ran a season best and took fifth place with a time of 9.24 seconds. Her teammate, freshman Jillian Roney set a personal best (9.31) in the prelims and ended sixth in the finals running 9.34.
To end the day, the women’s 4-by-400m relay won the event with a time of 3:52.56. The relay began with sophomore Alanna O’Leary who was followed by Stamm, freshman Judith Allison, and Johansson.
The Chargers will host the Wide Track Classic this weekend, starting on Friday, Feb. 7 and concluding on Saturday. Events begin on Friday at noon.
