The Hillsdale men’s cross country team took 19th place at the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championships on Saturday in Evansville, IN.
In its final meet of the season, instead of their normal 8 kilometer distance, the team ran a 10k race.
The Chargers were led once again by junior Adam Weir, who earned All-Region Honors on Saturday. Weir placed 23rd overall with a time 31:11.
“All-Region has been something I’ve had my eye on ever since I ran my first regional race my freshman year,” Weir said. “I was close sophomore year but getting the actual medal this year was an incredible feeling. I had my best race on the day I needed it most and I’m immensely proud of that.”
Head Coach R.P. White echoed in Weir’s excitement, pointing out that All-Region had been a shared goal of theirs throughout Weir’s career
“It feels great to have Adam All-Region,” White said. “It’s something we had talked about in 2019 and he barely missed it. To have his vision carried out for over two years, and for him to achieve that goal was special.”
Following Weir for the Chargers was senior Mark Miller, who returned from an injury to finish his Hillsdale cross country career placing 80th overall with a time of 32:46.
Miller was followed by freshmen Alex Mitchell, Micah Vanderkooi, and Preston Fagerlin. Vanderkooi finished at the 33:55 mark, which earned him 127th overall. Mitchell and Fagerlin finished 144th and 145th, with times of 34:10.9 and 34:11.1, respectively.
Also competing in his first NCAA Regional Championship was freshman Donnie McArdle, who ran a 34:34 10k.
The Chargers totalled 519 points, which earned them 19th overall, while Grand Valley State won the meet with 49 points.
“I’m most proud of how the men had grown physically and mentally,” White said, “They are a relatively young group with a bias toward the track events. They were tenacious about being excellent and growing as long distance runners.”