Men's Track and Field Places Second at GPAC Championships

Doane Men's Track and Field competed at the 2023 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Championships on Friday and Saturday in Sioux Center, Iowa. The Tigers finished in second place overall with 163 team points. Athletes placing in the Top 8 of individual events and in the Top 3 of relay events earn All-GPAC honors.

JaDae Moore placed fifth in the 100m dash with a time of 10.85. Dalton Whisenhunt finished seventh with a time of 10.91. In the 200m, Austin Drake ran a time of 21.65 to finish second and Moore ran a time of 21.89 to place seventh. Three Tigers placed in the 400m, led by Joaquin Gutierrez with a time of 49.32 to finish third. Caleb Mulder finished in fourth with a time of 49.73 and Ivan Varela was eighth with a time of 50.37.

In the 800m, Kingdon Hawes placed sixth with a time of 1:56.78. Kalen Dockweiler took fifth place in the 1500m with a time of 4:02.23. Luke Bonifas posted a fifth place finish in the 10,000m with a time of 32:50.47.

Dockweiler picked up the lone individual win on the track and it came in impressive fashion as he ran a time of 9:07.89 in the 3,000m steeplechase. His time broke the school record by more than six seconds and the GPAC record by more than two seconds. Jack Krejci placed in the 110m and 400m hurdles races. In the 110m hurdles, he ran a time of 14.83 to finish second. He placed fifth in the 400m hurdles with a time of 55.91.

The Tiger 4x800m relay team of Jordan Tasler, Duncan Blankenship, Dockweiler, and Hawes also claimed a track title as they won with a time of 7:47.13, meeting the NAIA provisional standard to qualify for nationals. The 4x100m relay team of Moore, Chris Vincent, Andrew Mahoney, and Drake ran an NAIA automatic qualifying time of 40.91 to place third. The 4x400m relay team of Hawes, Drake, Mulder, and Gutierrez placed third with a time of 3:16.38, meeting the provisional qualifying standard. 

In the high jump, Carter Reckling and Dylan Starr tied for fifth with a height of 1.95m (6-04.75). Cooper Girmus placed eighth, also hitting a height of 1.95m. Branson McDonald cleared 4.55m (14-11.00) to take home second in the pole vault. Mike Pulliam finished sixth with a mark of 4.40m (14-05.25). 

Krejci added an All-GPAC performance in the long jump as he placed eighth with a mark of 6.48m (21-03.25). Trevor Malone finished second in the triple jump as he hit a leap of 13.80m (45-03.50). Vince Lauenroth placed third with a mark of 13.76m (45-01.75).

In the shot put, Andrew Schmitz finished fifth with a throw of 15.00m (49-02.50). Zac Stieb took sixth with a throw of 14.88m (48-10.00). Trey Dickey earned honors in the discus with a throw of 44.48m (145-11) to finish eighth. Luke Partridge placed third in the hammer throw with a mark of 58.82m (193-00), surpassing the automatic qualifying standard for nationals once again. Schmitz placed sixth in the event with a throw of 53.73m (176-03).

Mason Krause claimed a championship in the javelin with a throw of 62.10m (203-09), a personal best throw and improved on his NAIA automatic qualifying standard. Parker Lange finished fifth with a throw of 50.51m (165-08) and Bryant Jeary took seventh with a throw of 49.00m (160-09). Mason Zimmerman finished fourth in the decathlon with 5,493 points.

Next up for the Tigers is the Last Chance Meet hosted by Concordia on May 12 in Seward.