The Northwestern College men’s track and field team will send a total of 14 athletes to compete in the 2018 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this weekend in Gulf Shores, Ala. The three-day event, held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium, begins on Thursday around 10 am with the first events of the Decathlon, followed by a few field and running events. The Championships will continue on Friday and run through Saturday, May 26, concluding with the awards at 6:50 pm.
Athletes from the area include Unity grad Calvin Korver in the Decathlon and High Jump, along with West Lyon alum Cody Bauman in the Discus, and MOC-FV graduate Katie Landhuis in the 800 meter.
Korver is seeded second among the 16-athlete field with a qualifying score of 6,651 points and placed 13th last year. Seth Gretz has the top overall mark coming in (6,895pts) and is one of seven athletes returning from last year’s championship. Gretz finished fifth in 2017 and last year’s runner-up, Joe Dotson (Southern Oregon), is also in the field.
Bauman is seeded 27th with a qualifying mark of 47.92m and is one of 10 athletes from the GPAC in the field. 14 athletes return from last year with Zach Brittain (Doane) as the top returner, placing third last year. James Plummer (Grand View) is the top seed with a mark of 55.98m.
Landhuis has the 10th fastest time (2:12.7) and is one of 12 athletes who return to the field from last year. Landhuis is one of three athletes from the GPAC in the 20-member field, joining teammate Katie Bosch and Michelle Mumm (Morningside). Anna Shields (Point Park-Pa.) has the fastest time coming in (2:05) and was the national runner-up last year.
