Junior Ben Haas won the weight throw at the G-MAC Indoor Championships in Ashland OH from Feb. 23-24, earning him the twenty-eighth best spot for DII and another provisional qualifying mark. Haas will move on to the NCAA DII Indoor Championships on March 8-9 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Haas also placed second in the shot put with a mark of 16.77 meters. 

Junior Ross Kuhn ran a personal best in the mile, placing sixth with a time of 4:10.86. 

“My training and buildup into this race were the best I have had yet in college and really gave me the confidence to go out and compete against some of the best milers in the nation in Division II,” Kuhn said. “This whole week my coach and I just talked about controlling what I can control, and the results will speak for themselves and that is what played out Saturday.”

On the track, senior Sean Fagan placed eighth in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.33 seconds. Senior Sean Hoeft placed fifth in the 800 meter with a time of 1:51.74, a provisional qualifying mark. Senior Alex Mitchell ran his collegiate best 3,000 meter, placing third with a time of 8:22.23. Fagan, Hoeft, seniors Joseph Ritzer and Benu Meintjes also placed fifth in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:19.60. 

“Coach White always talks about progress from year to year and this year at GMACs almost everyone on the distance side either ran a PR or scored higher than they have at previous GMAC championships,” Kuhn said. “That just shows the work that we have been putting in all year is paying off!”

Meintjes also placed eighth in the 400 meter with a time of 49.24. 

“All the hard work had been done earlier and the last bit was just priming and getting ready to peak for the championship,” Meintjes said. “The hard work paid off as this was the meet we focused on and wanted to peak at – so almost everyone ran well and a lot of guys set personal or seasonal bests.”

Sophomore Nathaniel Osborne ran a personal best in the 5,000 meter with a time of 15:26.38. 

“Besides this I haven’t had a really super hard race since outdoor conferences last spring” Osborne said. “This was just great momentum, as the quality overall in the GMAC is getting really strong very quickly.”

Haas will be the only competitor representing Hillsdale in Kansas. The rest of the team will race next at the start of the outdoor track season in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on March 15-16 at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational.  

“I think it was a good season. We got to see what we have to work on as well as some wonderful performances, and it is a solid base for the outdoor season,” Meintjes said.