Crete, NE — Dordt University finished third at the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship that concluded Saturday in Crete, Neb.
The Defenders were one of four teams to score over 100 points and placed third out of 12 teams overall. They totaled 117 points, trailing GPAC Champion Concordia (216) and Hastings (172).
A day after winning the GPAC title in the 4×800, the Defenders picked up three more championships in today’s final day of competition.
Emma Bakker claimed three titles, winning both the 200m and 400m championships while also anchoring the winning 4×400 relay. Bakker qualified for nationals in the 400m, meeting the ‘A’ standard with a season-best time of 56.45. The senior crossed the finish line in 25.16 to win the 200m.
Bakker, Emilee Heynen, Anmarie Stuit and Mika Kooistra teamed up to win the conference title in the 4×400 relay. In a close second behind Concordia heading into the final carry, Bakker overtook the Bulldogs final runner during the last 100m to earn the win. The Defenders established a new school record time of 3:48.3, meeting the ‘A’ standard once again with the fourth best time in the NAIA.
Three additional Defenders met the NAIA ‘B’ standard in their respective event this afternoon. Anmarie Stuit ran a season-best and placed sixth in the 400m hurdles. The former high school state champion in the event clocked a time of 1:04.6, fourth fastest in program history. Emilee Heynen met the ‘B’ standard in the 800m, finishing as the conference runner-up with a personal-best time of 2:15.48. Heynen, along with Mika Kooistra, who placed third, ran personal bests in today’s 800m race. Cori De Jong finished fourth and met the provisional mark in the high jump by clearing a season-best 1.64m.
The Dordt women’s team earned all-conference honors (top eight) in 23 entries over the two-day championships.
Alexandra Beckmann was all-conference in both the 200m (5th) and as a member of the third place 4×100 relay. Other relay members include Bakker, Erika Nikkel and Mikayla Balt.
Bethany Ten Haken and Alexa Veldhuisen earned all-conference honors with their finish in the 1500m. Ten Haken was sixth (5:03.3) while Veldhuisen placed eighth and ran a career-best time of 5:10.8.
Both Elyse Kuperus and Margaret Myskowski claimed all-conference accolades in the 3000m steeplechase. Running together for most of the race, Kuperus passed her teammate over the final laps to finish second with a personal-best time of 12:02, eighth fastest in program history. Myskowski was third and also recorded a personal-best time (12:04).
Later, in one of the final running events, Myskowski was one of three Defenders to earn all-conference honors in the 5K. Anika Homan led the way with a fifth place finish (19:17), followed by Eden Winslow (6th – 19:27) and Myskowski (7th – 19:47).
Ashley Vandermeer placed eighth and earned all-conference honors in the triple jump (10.56m).
