The Hillsdale College women’s track and field team fought through the storm that is the GLIAC Championships this weekend at Tiffin University. Despite being ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Chargers took a backseat to Grand Valley, placing second. The Chargers utilized every facet of the team to score 101.5 points in total.
Sophomore Rachael Tolsma dropped a bomb in the weight throw this weekend, shattering her own personal record and breaking the school record with a throw of 18.97 meters. Tolsma’s incredible weekend earned her a spot on the podium at second and also ensured her a spot at nationals. Her national ranking leapt from 20th to eighth.
“I’m really excited about it. Practice has been going really well, so it’s just kind of catching up in the meets so that feels good,” Tolsma said. “There was only one thing I needed to fix in my finish and it finally clicked, so I’m pretty confident about nationals.”
Senior Emily Oren placed first in the mile, running a time of 4:48.64. Oren earned 10 points for the team and another automatic mark for nationals, and she is ranked second in the nation in the event.
Oren won a total of three awards after the championship meet: Track Athlete of the Year, Track Athlete of the Meet, and High Point Athlete of the Meet.
The Chargers swept the podium in the 3K, taking first, second, and third. Emily Oren, who is ranked second in the nation for this event as well, ran a time of 9:42.15, junior Molly Oren was close behind with a 9:44.80, and sophomore Hannah McIntyre followed with a 9:47.45. Each time reached provisional standard. This single event earned Hillsdale 24 points.
“As a group and a team we are a lot more confident in our role in not only conference but also nationals. It’s nice going into nationals with a good race under my belt,” said Molly Oren, who will be running the 1200 in the distance medley relay and the 3K at the national meet.
The DMR placed first this weekend. McIntyre, senior Emily Guy, sophomore Hannah Watts, and Emily Oren ran their fastest time of the season with an 11:35.96. Though this is only a provisional mark, the relay team is ranked second in the nation.
Junior Sarah Benson competed in her second pentathlon this weekend and placed fifth, scoring 3323 points. This was a 300-point improvement over the last time she ran it. Though Benson reached the provisional standard for the pentathlon, she will be competing at nationals because of her performance in the long jump portion of the multi-event. Benson jumped 5.84 meters, a foot better than her personal record, and she is now ranked 15th in the nation in the long jump.
“I started the day off running my slowest hurdle race yet so I was in the frame of mind that I had to make big efforts in every single event from then on to catch up,” Benson said. “Qualifying in long jump was the least likely thing I expected to happen. There wasn’t as much pressure as last year when it was an individual event. In the multis you don’t place any event under too much pressure.”
Head coach Andrew Towne admitted that some things didn’t go their way but that overall he was pleased with their performance.
“Our whole focus isn’t laying down at GLIACs but being completely ready for NCAAs,” Towne said.
The national meet will take place on March 11 and 12 in Pittsburg, Kansas. The national rankings released on March 1 confirm that the Hillsdale women’s track and field team will send 10 athletes and one relay team to compete. According to Towne, Hillsdale is sending the most athletes ever between men and women to the national championships.
“No matter what we go in ranked or how we compare to last year, our focus is on our kids this year and what they have to do to be successful. That said we are covering a lot of events,” Towne said. “That’s the key to success at NCAAs — having quality and having as much of that as you possibly can. It’s not a quantity championship. It’s not about who has the most entries. It’s about the quality of the entries because points are hard to come by.”
