Seward, Neb. – The Tiger track teams had strong showings and results at the GPAC Championships with nine All-Conference marks/finishes and three athletes qualified for Nationals in Brookings, S.D. The three competing in Brookings will be Wyatt Baldauf, Caleb Sayler and Lila Gronseth.
Individual Results – Click on the link to see all individual results from the GPAC Championships.
NAIA National Qualifiers:
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Wyatt Baldauf – 1K with a 2:30.25 (National "A" Standard) / 3K with a 8:26.67 (National "A" Standard) / 1 Mile with a 4:12.71 (National "A" Standard) / 5K with a 14:55.97 (National "B" Standard). Wyatt will focus on the 1 Mile and 3K at Nationals.
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Caleb Sayler – 5K with a 14:59.29 (National "B" Standard)
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Lila Gronseth – Shot Put with a 13.23m (National "B" Standard)
All-Conference:
- Wyatt Baldauf – 1 Mile- 4:16.43 (5th) & 3K- 8:52.13 (8th)
- Caleb Sayler – 1 Mile- 4:23.43 (8th) & 1K- 2:35.55 (3rd)
- Hunter Shanks – 800m- 1:58.06 (4th)
- Cale Strong – Triple Jump- 13.35m (8th)
- Lila Gronseth – Shot Put- 13.24m (8th & PR)
- Avany Long – Long Jump- 5.20m (4th / PR / 7th all-time)
- Ashtyn Evans – Triple Jump- 10.60m (8th)
Individual Standouts (School/Personal Records/Top finishes) –
Men's Team:
- Nate Rupprecht – Heptathlon (4161 is 2nd all-time at DWU) / 60m- 7.44 (PR) / Shot Put- 12.22m (PR) / Pole Vault- 3.85 (PR & Tied for 5th all-time)
- Cobey Carr – Triple Jump- 13.18m (PR)
- Cale Strong – Pole Vault- 4.20 (PR & 3rd all-time)
Women's Team:
- Avany Long – 60H- 9.53 (PR & 3rd all-time)
Coaches Quotes—
Roger Malonda on distance:
5 All-Conference performances and the distance squad still wanted more. That's the mindset this group is operating at. Super proud of their ability to put themselves out there and give it a shot against a very talented field, especially in the distance races. Time to reset mentally after such a big weekend and give our best shot at Nationals in two weeks. Job's not finished.
Caden Milnine on throws:
The throwers performed well against a stacked GPAC competition, walking away with an All-Conference performance. They hope to continue their momentum going into outdoor.
Lydia Gerber on jumps:
Going into conference, as a jumps group we really wanted to focus on being intentional with our mindsets and making the most of every jump, and I think we accomplished that goal. With 3 all-conference performances and 3 PRs, we're looking to reset, refocus, and get set for outdoor.
Matt Rosado on the meet:
Going into the weekend, we talked about being the team that fought and battled every time we had the opportunity, I couldn't have asked for better execution as we put together multiple personal best. It was inspiring watching Nate piece together the best Heptathlon of his life with an insane pole vault performance, Avany jumping into 4th place in the long jump while running a huge 60 hurdle personal best. Watching Lila battle through a tough series of shot put to improve her national qualifying mark and the duo of Cale and Cobey finding a way to make the triple jump final when they were seeded near the bottom of entries. Plus, the overall guts and grid from Wyatt, Caleb, and Hunter to have huge performances in events that included some of the best runners in the country. Overall, I am very proud of all the athletes and the coaches for their continued work to make our program better with each opportunity. Now we are preparing for nationals in Brookings and look forward to what the outdoor season has in store for us.
Up Next:
The Tigers next compete with their qualified athletes for the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championship March 2nd-4th. The athletes that will be competing in Brookings include, Wyatt Baldauf in the 1 Mile and 3K (Qualified in the 1K and 5K as well), Caleb Sayler in the 5K and Lila Gronseth in the Shot Put.