Sophomore Baelyn Zitzmann high jumps at the home track meet. Courtesy | Kenneth Gaudet
The Chargers won 11 events and broke three school records and one Great Midwest Athletic Conference record at the 56th annual Gina Relays hosted at Hillsdale College April 16-18.
Junior Amelia Lutz broke her own school record and the G-MAC record in shot put with a throw of 16.55 meters–the farthest throw in NCAA Division II this season, shattering the former G-MAC record of 16.38 meters.
Lutz also set the school record in discus, placing fourth with a mark of 47.24 meters. Lutz won hammer throw, setting a personal best mark of 55.20 meters, and placed seventh in javelin with a throw of 29.05 meters.
“I went in with very little expectations because I had already thrown decently far last week too,” Lutz said. “Every weekend I feel like it’s up in the air how it’s going to go, but we had really good weather, and just having my supportive teammates around me and my family come up to watch–it was just so special.”
Junior Olivia Newsome came in second in hammer throw with a mark of 52.63 meters, followed by junior Regan Wight with a personal best of 51.29 meters. Sophomore Tori Tyo took sixth with a mark of 48.22 meters.
Senior Ben Haas won hammer throw and broke his own school record with a mark of 69.28 meters, the second-best mark in NCAA DII this season and the fifth-best mark in G-MAC history. He also took first in the shot put and threw 17.91 meters.
Freshman Dominic Scharer was runner-up in hammer throw with a mark of 62.90 meters, and senior Matthew Belanich came in fourth with a throw of 58.01 meters. Junior Dimitry Ermakov set a personal best of 56.57 meters and placed fifth.
In men’s 3K steeplechase, freshman Jefferson Regitz took second with a personal best time of 9:18.84, followed by sophomore Zach Self in fourth with a personal best of 9:30.06, sophomore John Ahrabi in sixth at 9:46.00, and junior Noah Gazmin in seventh at 9:47.90.
Freshman Taylor Brodeur won the women’s steeplechase in her second time racing it and set a personal best of 11:02.02. Senior Anna Roberts took sixth with a time of 11:27.96, and freshman Mavis Banks came in eighth with a personal best of 11:35.45.
“The first time I did the steeplechase, I didn’t even feel like I was racing –– I didn’t want it to be over,” Brodeur said. “I was just having fun. That’s how I felt again this time, so it was really fun. My goal this season is to break 11 minutes, and I hit 11:02, which I wasn’t necessarily expecting to be able to get that close so early.”
Hillsdale’s four top-nine finishers in the men’s 5K ran personal bests and broke 15 minutes, with senior Emil Schlueter taking third in 14:51.40 and senior Nathaniel Osborne in fourth at 14:51.40. Freshman John Richardson came in fifth in 14:53.10, and junior Caleb Youngstedt took ninth in 14:57.00.
“Never in my time in the program have four of our athletes broken 15 in the same race,” Schlueter said. “To have that many distance athletes on the guys’ side be in that kind of fitness is very exciting for us. Our coach gave us instructions to run the first two miles at 15-minute pace –– at a measured effort –– and then to push hard in that last mile, almost as more of a training run than a full out race. So for four of us to go under 15 pretty substantially is very encouraging to us.”
In the women’s 5K, sophomore Ally Kuzma came in first with a time of 16:49.20. Senior Ross Kuhn won the 1500-meter in 3:45.63, and Richardson came in sixth in 3:58.53.
In sprints, freshman Watson Magwenzi ran the 100-meter in 10.63 and took sixth, while freshman Wyatt Widolff came in eighth in the 400-meter with a time of 48.52.
Freshman Anna Roessner won the 100m with a time of 11.60 that ties with her personal best. Senior Lucy Minning came in third in 11.69. In the 800-meter, freshman Caroline Roberts took third with a personal best of 2:15.45, followed by junior Megan Roberts in sixth with a time of 2:16.36.
In the 100m hurdles, sophomore Sarah Chappelle took fourth in 14.08, followed by sophomore Baelyn Zitzmann in 10th with a personal best time of 14.98. Zitzmann took second in high jump with a clearance of 1.65 meters, and freshman Bristol Whitley placed fifth at 1.60 meters, followed by senior Erika Mogelvang in sixth at 1.60 meters.
Junior Tommy Flud won javelin with a throw of 58.81 meters, and senior Connor McCormick won men’s pole vault with a clearance of 4.70 meters. Senior Tara Townsend won women’s pole vault with a clearance of 4.07 meters.
“I am just incredibly grateful to be the head coach at Hillsdale College right now,” Jessica Bridenthal, who was named head coach at the beginning of the 2025 season, said. “I’m super happy with how our athletes have just bought into wanting to be successful and to compete at the highest level that they can compete. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved this year, and I think we’re not done yet.”
The Gina Relays commemorate Gina Van Laar Lanser ’88, who won Hillsdale’s only cross country national championship, was President’s Ball queen, outstanding senior woman, and class valedictorian in her time at the college. This year is the 30th anniversary of her and her unborn daughter’s passing in a car accident in 1996.
The Chargers will host the annual Tune-Up meet April 24-25 and the G-MAC Outdoor Championships April 29-May 1.
