SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Dakota Wesleyan Track & Field competed at the Dordt Indoor Open to open the new calendar year down in Iowa.
The men's team representing DWU saw multiple season-bests from Quenton Walls, who recorded a 6.26m leap in the long jump, good for third place in the event, along with a 13.23m mark in the triple jump, earning him first place in Sioux Center and bumping up to the 47th-best jump in the NAIA as of the date of competition. Both competing pole vaulters for DWU found success, as Carter Harris set a new season-best of 4.05m on his top jump, landing him 60th in the NAIA in the event, while Talan Heezen recorded a personal-best mark of 3.75m. Graham Huffman had an impressive day, finishing 11th overall in the men's 1000m with a time of 2:50.69, which was a top-70 mark nationally, while Gage Dietterle finished just behind him with a time of 2:53.80 in the 1000m, good for the 80th-best time in the NAIA. Dietterle also posted a season-best time in the mile of 5:13.21. Kellen Brozik finished sixth in the 400m race with a time of 52.80 seconds and was a part of the men's 4x200m relay team, which, alongside Sean DeBlieck, Will Prunty, and Quincy Stephens, recorded a time of 1:36.40 and placed third in the meet.
For the women's team, the Tigers were led in the field by Devin Hongslo, who posted a new personal best of 10.96m in the shot put, placing her 92nd nationally, and earned third in the meet. Shirley Huckins had a solid day in the weight throw and shot put, placing fifth and seventh, respectively, while Samantha Kludt finished just one spot behind Huckins in the weight throw with a toss of 13.36m. Dani Deffenbaugh also recorded a 10th-place finish in the shot put and was a member of the women's 4x200m relay team that placed third with a final time of 1:53.15 alongside Hailey Oswald, Riley Jones, and Stacy Ruelas-Hertz. On the track, Aubrey Cumming earned a new personal record in prelims of the 60m with a time of 8.44 seconds alongside a decent performance in the women's 200m race, while Ava Ludwig placed sixth in the women's high jump, recording a top mark of 1.46m.
DWU Track & Field will be back in action at the Dave Little Alumni Mile in Speafish, South Dakota, on Saturday, January 17th. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.