Men's Track and Field Claims GPAC Title

Men's Track and Field brought home the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championship on Saturday evening from Yankton, S.D. The Tigers posted 195 points in the meet, finishing ahead of second place Dordt (167 points). Athletes placing in the Top 8 of an individual event and Top 3 of a relay earn All-GPAC honors.

As with every championship event, there are always a few moments that stand out that have the metaphoric punches thrown. The men's triple jump provided the ultimate punch for Doane as the competition was winding down.

Trevor Malone posted the top jump in the first round of jumps and remained in first place after the second round of jumps. Vince Lauenroth moved into second place after his second jump. In the third round, Dordt's Micah Schaap went in front by three-quarters of an inch ahead of Malone. Schaap extended his lead after the fourth round of jumps before craziness ensued. Midland's Robert Atwater and Lauenroth both hit marks that were within an inch of Schaap. Malone then took a lead that lasted one jump. Schaap regained the lead heading into the final attempts. 

Malone, jumping second to last in the round, hit a season-best leap of 14.35m (47-01.00) to go back in front. Schaap was the lone remaining competitor with a chance to retake his lead but a foul on his attempt left Malone on top for the triple jump title. Lauenroth placed third with a mark of 14.13m (46-04.25) and Cordale Moxey finished eighth with a mark of 13.10m (42-11.75).

In the shot put, Colton Dillon placed second with a throw of 15.86m (52-00.50) for a personal best. Andrew Schmitz placed fifth with a mark of 15.27m (50-01.25) and Cale Bessler hit a personal best throw of 15.17m (49-09.25) to place sixth.

Four throwers placed in the weight throw, led by Schmitz with a second place finish and mark of 17.93m (58-10.00). Trey Dickey placed third with a toss of 17.91m (58-09.25). Jaedon Lothrop finished in fifth with a mark of 17.65m (57-11.00), a season-best, and Jaden Vollenweider hit a personal best throw of 17.03m (55-10.50) to place seventh.

In the pole vault, Mike Pulliam finished second with a mark of 4.65m (15-03.00) and Branson McDonald placed fifth with a clearance of 4.50m (14-09.00).

Three Tigers placed in the high jump as they all cleared 1.92m (6-03.50). Jump attempts broke ties as Peyton Herrick finished sixth, Cooper Girmus placed seventh, and Carter Reckling took eighth.

On the track, Zach Turner broke his own GPAC record in the 60m hurdles by 0.01. He ran a time of 7.96 in the finals which also set the stadium record. Zach Fox placed fifth with a time of 8.63 and Addison Croghan was sixth with a time of 8.66. Sander Zutterman placed seventh with a time of 8.77 and Carter Niles rounded out the finalists, placing eighth in a time of 8.79.

In the 60m dash, Connor Bradley placed sixth with a time of 6.93 and JaDae Moore finished seventh in a time of 6.98. Turner led the Tigers in the 200m with a time of 21.96 while Bradley finished sixth with a time of 22.51. Turner also placed in the 400m, running a time of 48.90 to place third.

In the 600m, Joaquin Gutierrez ran a personal best time of 1:19.97 to win the event. Emmanuel Yego also ran a personal best time as he placed third in 1:20.74. Eli Marez finished sixth with a time of 1:23.69.

In the 800m, Duncan Blankenship led the way with a fourth place finish and time of 1:59.69. Will Wenz finished sixth in 2:01.65 and Will Dawes was seventh as he crossed in 2:02.32. Michael Grigsby took fourth in the 1000m run for Doane, posting a time of 2:36.50. Yego was eighth in a time of 2:39.68.

Grigsby also led the Tigers in the mile run, finishing sixth with a time of 4:27.04. Thomas Oliver took seventh in 4:27.69. In the 3000m, Nelson Ruto led Doane with a time of 8:47.44 to place third. Oliver finished seventh with a time of 9:00.63. Ruto and Oliver also led the Tigers in the 5000m. Ruto placed third with a time of 15:04.99 and Oliver was fourth with a time of 15:19.73.

The men's 4x800m relay team of Blankenship, Marez, Jordan Kwiatkowski, and Dawes took third with a time of 8:00.71. The 4x400m relay team of Chris Vincent, Bradley, Wenz, and Moore posted a time of 3:25.96 to place second.

In the heptathlon, Andrew Harms placed third with 4,359 points. Croghan finished fourth with 4,343 points. Mason Zimmerman posted 4,191 points to place seventh and Devin Jepson finished with 4,104 points to place eighth.

Next up for the Tigers will be the NAIA National Championships in Brookings, S.D., on February 29-March 2.