The Hillsdale men’s cross country team started its season off at the Olivet College Comet Open 5K on Thursday, Sept. 1, which was hosted by Broadway Acres Golf Club in Charlotte, Michigan.
Six members of Hillsdale’s team competed against runners from the Lansing Community College Stars, Olivet College Comets, Albion College Britons, Adrian College Bulldogs, Jackson College Jets, and Lake Michigan College Red Hawks.
Leading the charge for Hillsdale was sophomore Donnie “Dobby” McArdle, who finished 10th overall with a 16:25 run.
“I think the team hit a major turning point at the GMAC Championship during outdoor track in that I’ve never seen our guys race as fearlessly as they did that week,” McArdle said. “I think that energy carried into a lot of our summer training, and I think we’re going to need to get comfortable with racing fearlessly and not caring about the pain that may come with doing that.”
Following behind McArdle was senior Issac Waffle, who finished at the 16:29 mark, earning him 11th overall. The third Charger to cross the finish line was senior Sean Hoeft, finishing 15th at 16:44.
“The men’s team is looking to be in a very good spot this year,” Hoeft said. “We have much more depth than last year, and we have a lot of guys that have put in the work this summer to challenge for those top five scoring spots for the team.”
Hillsdale had two freshmen make their collegiate debuts on Thursday. Seth Jankowski took 23rd ,finishing at the 17:21 mark, while Mark Masaka finished close behind at the 17:54 mark, taking 28th. Junior Dylan Palmer finished between Jankowski and Masaka at 24th with a time of 17:30.
“We are already a very connected team,” Jankowski said. “I can tell that as a freshman from the inclusiveness my teammates have shown me and I’m looking forward to becoming even more like a family as the season goes on.”
The Chargers will get to stay in Michigan for their next meet, traveling to Grand Rapids for the Calvin Knight Classic at Calvin University on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. Three weeks later the Chargers will run their third race at Lansing Community College on Sept. 30.
“I think we’re going to need to get comfortable with racing that fearlessly and not caring about the pain that may come with doing that,” McArdle said.
