Junior Ben Haas led the Chargers at the Lee University Invitational in Cleveland, Tennessee, March 22-23, winning hammer throw with a PR and meet record mark of 64.32 meters. 

Haas also placed second in the shot put with a personal best mark of 16.45 meters. 

Junior Richie Johnston ran a Lee University Invitational record, winning the 3,000 meter steeple with a time of 9:11.95.

“Most of the distance squad spent spring break in the Tennessee mountains, and I could feel that strength toward the end of the race,” Johnston said, “We have also emphasized more specific workouts, which I think will help us during this outdoor season.”

On the track, seniors Drew Ransom, Jamahl Burke, Owen Gardner, and Joseph Ritzer placed fourth in the 4×100 meter relay with a time of 42.38 seconds. Senior Alex Mitchell placed third in the 3,000-meter steeple with a Lee University Invitational record time of 9:20.81. Sophomore Colsen Conway placed seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.19 seconds, and eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.65 seconds. 

Ransom also placed 10th in the 100-meter with a time of 10.82 seconds, and thirteenth in the 200-meter with a time of 22.17 seconds. Ransom said the team is excited to enjoy the outdoor season and to build on the success of the indoor season. 

“We finally get to run outside, which we’ve missed, but the other part is the great energy and momentum we built up through our successes during the indoor season,” Ransom said.

Senior Sean Fagan placed second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.71 seconds, and second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.04 seconds.

“Now that we’re starting a new season again, we’ve ramped up the workouts and lifts, which left us all feeling a bit tired this weekend I think. But it will pay off later in the season, which is when it really counts,” Fagan said. 

In the field, freshman Jackson Childress placed third in the discus with a personal record mark of 43.64 meters. Junior Matthew Belanich placed second in the hammer throw with a personal best mark of 55.29 meters. Junior Cass Dobrowolski placed first in the high jump with a mark of 1.98 meters. Freshman Ethan Dorrell placed fourth in the javelin throw with a mark of 48.47 meters. Junior Alfonso Garcia placed second in the triple jump with a mark of 13.7 meters. 

Freshman Tommy Flud placed second in the javelin throw with a mark of 54.42 meters. Flud is excited to see how the team continues to progress now that outdoor season has begun. 

“We’re looking forward to getting deeper into the outdoor season. So far we’ve looked really good, and we’re only going to keep getting better,” Flud said. 

Hillsdale will next race at Michigan State University in the MSU Spartan Invitational from April 5-6.