WAYNE, Neb. — Dakota Wesleyan Track & Field traveled to Nebraska to compete in the Wildcat Outdoor Classic to begin the outdoor portion of the 2025-26 schedule.
A handful of competitors would lead the way for the men's portion of the roster. Quenton Walls was the top performer for the team in both the long jump and triple jump, taking fifth place with a 6.80m leap and third with a 13.24m jump, respectively. At the same time, Carter Harris and Talan Heezen would represent the Tigers in the pole vault, with Harris taking sixth, clearing 3.70m, and Heezen placing 11th with a final mark of 3.50m. Trevor Sladky would place in the top 10 in the long jump with a top mark of 6.19m. On the track, Dustin Lemaster led the way with a new personal-best in the 400m with a 51.28-second mark, placing fifth overall, along with a recorded 22.80s in the 200m. He was joined in the 200m by Kellen Brozik, who recorded a 23.61, and Sean DeBlieck, who finished closely behind with a 23.84, along with a seventh-place finish in the triple jump. Brozik would crack the top 10 in the 400m with a 53.08, while Quincy Stephens contributed a 56.90 in the 400m and a 23.94 in the 200m. Tayne Herrmann would be the team's lone hurdler, recording a 16.61 in the 110m hurdles to finish 11th in the event, and finished fifth in the javelin with a 46.69m throw. He was only surpassed on the DWU side by Maxwell Raab, who finished fourth place in the javelin with a best mark of 48.15m. Graham Huffman rounded out the men's team's effort with a 2:17.52 in the 800m and a 4:51.92 in the 1500m.
The women's team would see Dani Deffenbaugh set a personal best in the javelin with a 35.89m throw, placing her second in the event, and would also record respectable marks in the long jump at 4.85m, 200m race with a 27.27, and the shot put, with a top mark of 9.16m. Deffenbaugh was joined in the javelin by Hailey Oswald, who tallied a 22.94m throw, and Riley Jones, who finished in 20th place with a 19.60m mark. Oswald competed on the track in the 200m with a 28.61-second time, alongside a solid 14th-place finish in the 400m, with a final mark of 1:10.22. Devin Hongslo competed in three field events with a top finish in the shot put, placing 15th with a 11.10m throw, and would have solid efforts in the hammer throw with a 39.38m mark, alongside the discus, recording a 28.94m. She would be joined in all three events by Shirley Huckins, who found her top mark in the discus with a 36.78m mark, and posted a 39.73m in the hammer throw alongside a 9.83m in the shot put. Samantha Kludt rounded out the effort in the field events with a 24.44m throw in the women's discus. On the track, Aubrey Cumming recorded a 13.27-second time in the 100m race alongside a 28.62 in the 200m, and was joined in the latter race by Ashlyn Maldonado, who recorded a 31.45, and would go on to record a 15th-place finish in the 400m with a 1:12.96.
DWU Track & Field will be back in action at the USD Early Bird meet starting on Friday, April 3rd. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.