The women of the Hillsdale College Track and Field team have soared from third to first in the nation in NCAA Division II after the Big Meet held at Grand Valley State University this weekend. This ranking is the result of yet another broken record and several more individually ranked athletes on the list for the national meet.
The Big Meet is always essentially split into two meets — invitational and open — over Friday and Saturday. On Friday — the invite day — Hillsdale was well represented in the distance medley relay, the 400, the 5K, and the 4×400 relay.
The DMR is comprised of a 1200 meter, a 400 meter, an 800 meter, and a 1600 meter, in that order. This weekend it was run by junior Molly Oren, junior Sarah Benson, sophomore Hannah Watts, and senior Emily Oren respectively. After winning the race with a time of 11:38.19, the group is now ranked second nationally. They have also ensured themselves a spot at the national meet.
The Chargers have consistently led the nation in this event for the past three years. Head coach Andrew Towne, however, focuses on how the athletes perform when it counts, not how they are ranked.
“We could break the national record,” Towne said. “To be totally honest, I don’t care about that because that doesn’t give me any more points anywhere.”
In the 400 meter, senior Corinne Zehner finally had that race that clicked that she said she has been waiting for as she placed fourth on Friday, running a time of 55.89 seconds. This performance puts her in first in the GLIAC and puts her on the provisional list for nationals.
In the 5K, Emily Oren broke another one of Amanda Putt’s records, running a 16:24.36. This beat the previous record by five seconds as well as met the automatic mark for the national meet. Sophomore Hannah McIntyre came in second with a provisional time of 16:37.02. Senior Kristina Galat and junior Molly Oren also met the provisional standard, placing fourth and fifth, running times of 16:57.21 and 16:58.56.
McIntyre, who represented Hillsdale in the 5K at the national meet her freshman year, has consistently contributed to the team. She attributes this to having seasoned teammates to push her during practice.
“I’m really trying to take advantage of this semester because the seniors are the people who have really helped me get ahead of that learning curve and intensity of training. I’ve come into that foundation and I have a lot more confidence this year and I think that has played out well,” McIntyre said.
The 4×400, run by sophomores Tori Wichman and Fiona Shea, junior Allison Duber, and Zehner, placed third on Friday, running a 3:48.40. This met the provisional standard and is just off the school record.
On Saturday, the throwers maintained their consistent progress. Junior captain Dana Newell won the weight throw with a throw of 18.59 meters — coming very close to the record — while sophomore Rachael Tolsma placed fourth with a throw of 17.86 meters. Both improved upon their spots on the provisional list, advancing Newell to eighth and Tolsma to 18th.
“With where I’m at now — unless something bizarre happens — I’m pretty much going to nationals,” Newell said. “The atmosphere in the weight room is really good. We are all trying to push each other to do as much as we can.”
Although the team is ranked first in the nation, Towne does not want ranking to distract from the ultimate goal of scoring points at GLIACs and nationals.
“It’s nice but it really doesn’t change our focus,” Towne said. “We could have the greatest team in Division II history but if we don’t win the NCAA or GLIAC title I really don’t care. We’re not trying to be ranked in the top four, we’re trying to finish in the top four and be a podium team.”
On Saturday, the Chargers will host the Tune Up meet at the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center. This will be the last home meet of the season and the last meet before the GLIAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 27.
