The Dordt University Men’s and Women’s track teams competed at the South Dakota Challenge Thursday and both teams found success.
For the men:
The Dordt University men’s track and field team established six personal bests on day one of the South Dakota Challenge, a three-day meet hosted by the University of South Dakota.
Three Defenders, Payton Mauldin, Eric Steiger and Nic Veldhorst, all met the NAIA auto standard again AND bettered their time in their respective event.
Mauldin finished second in the 800m, less than a second behind first place Jacob Rodin from North Dakota State, an NCAA D-I program. Mauldin crossed the finish line in 1:49.79, currently the No.2 time in the NAIA and second fastest in program history (Matthew Van Eps – 1:49.59). Jebadiah Merkle (9th) ran a season-best time of 1:56 and Trey Engen (10th) both were in the top 10 and are both currently ranked among the top five in the GPAC.
Steiger, Veldhorst and Thaniel Schroeder all ran personal bests and finished in the top five in the 3000m steeplechase. Steiger won the race with a program-best time of 9:11.55, fastest in the GPAC to date and No.4 in the NAIA. Veldhorst finished a close third and put in a time of 9:18.97, second fastest in program history and No.7 in the NAIA. Schroeder just missed out on the NAIA provisional mark, crossing the finish line in 9:32.72, third fastest in the GPAC and No.4 all-time at Dordt. Peter Shippy gave the Defenders a fourth runner in the top 10, placing seventh (9:46.78).
Peyton Miller and Devin Bos gave the Defenders top five showings in the 400m hurdles. Miller tied for second among the 20 athletes with a time of 56.07, eighth fastest all-time at Dordt. Bos was just .02 seconds behind and placed fifth (56.09) and posted the ninth best time in program history.
Joe Anderson and Ethan Summerhays placed fourth in the 1500m (3:58) and 5K (15:43) respectively.
For the women:
Four Dordt University women’s track and field athletes recorded top 10 finishes on day one of the South Dakota Challenge, a three-day meet hosted by the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
Margaret Myskowski and Elyse Kuperus both ran personal bests and finished among the top 10 in the 3000m steeplechase. Myskowski placed seventh in today’s race with a time of 12:11, nearly 10 seconds faster than her previous best. Kuperus crossed the finish line in eighth place and shaved off 17 seconds off her previous best. Both times rank among the top 10 fastest at Dordt and are currently No.2 and No.3 in the GPAC.
Emilee Heynen and Mika Kooistra placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 800m. Heynen finished with a personal-best time of 2:17.26 which puts the freshman currently with the No.2 time in the GPAC. Kooistra ran a season-best time of 2:17.38, currently third fastest in the GPAC.
