Track athletes junior Ben Haas and senior Katie Sayles led the Chargers at the Hoosier Horsepower Classic in Indianapolis Jan. 18, setting personal bests and exceeding national marks in the weight throw.
Haas placed second in the weight throw, with a mark of 21.42 meters. This earned him the best mark in the nation for NCAA Division II and put him just ahead of Lewis University’s Levi Graham, the only other Division II athlete to throw over 21 meters at the meet. Overall, Haas finished just behind a top thrower at the Division I level from the University of Illinois.
“I really enjoyed throwing at the venue that nationals will be at in March. It was good to get a feel of the atmosphere. I always enjoy throwing against other top throwers and this meet had great competition,” Haas said.
Sayles placed fourth in the weight throw with a season best mark of 19.1 meters.
“My training has been going really well so I feel like I got the first peek at my potential for the season,” Sayles said. “We’re obviously trained to throw the farthest when it counts for conferences and nationals and I have a few more technical corrections to work on but it feels great to be comfortably qualified for nationals and to experience that facility before the real deal in a few months.”
Also in the field for the men were seniors Matthew Belanich and Isaac Doughty, who placed 10th and 12th with marks of 16.73 meters and 16.24 meters respectively. Freshman Yahli Salzman placed 15th in the weight throw with a mark of 15.64m.
“The first meet environment was really cool, there were a lot of really good throwers there so it was a little stressful being in such a competitive environment,” Salzman said. “I’m very happy with how my meet result went, I think I was able to execute the throws I needed. In response to my training I felt like it went very well and I ended up having a nice personal record.”
On the track for the men, senior Jamahl Burke placed fifth in the 400 meter dash with a time of 48.95 seconds. Senior Richie Johnston placed 13th in the mile with a time of 4:17.5 and freshman Zach Self placed 18th with a time of 4:21.55.
In the field for the women, sophomore Olivia Newsome placed ninth in the weight throw with a mark of 16.79m. Freshman Baelyn Zitman placed seventh in the high jump, exceeding the NCAA DII provisional qualifying mark with a jump of 1.69m. Junior Tara Townsend also hit a provisional qualifying mark with her sixth-place pole vault mark of 3.86m.
Junior Lucy Minning placed ninth and 13th in the 60 meter and 200 meter dash with times of 7.88 and 25.17 seconds respectively. Her 200 meter dash time was a personal best.
“It’s a great feeling when the training I did over break actually pays off,” Minning said. “If I continue improving at this rate then I could have a shot at getting on the list for nationals.”
On the track for the women, senior Reese Dragovich placed fifth in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:12.91. Sophomores Zoe Burke and Megan Roberts placed ninth and 10th in the 800 meter run with times of 2:12.91 and 2:17.42 respectively. Freshman Allison Kuzma placed 10th in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 10:07.88. In the mile, sophomore Savannah Fraley placed 11th with a time of 5:17.16 followed by junior Anna Roberts who placed 12th with a time of 5:20.25.
“I think the team is very excited because we have worked very hard the past few months and we are starting off very strong overall,” Minning said.
Sayles agreed and believes the team is ready for success this season.
“Keep your eyes peeled for some amazing results over the next few weeks of competition. Both the men and women’s team have big things coming soon!” Sayles said.
Hillsdale will compete next at home in the annual Wide Track Classic on Jan. 25.