Mitchell, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan Track & Field team had four athletes compete at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Wednesday-Thursday, May 24th-25th. Those athletes included Wyatt Baldauf (1500m & 3000sc), Lila Gronseth (Shot Put), Abbigail Magnuson (Shot Put) and Darby Deffenbaugh (Hammer).
Wyatt Baldauf was the first and only Tiger track athlete to compete, with his first event being the 1500m prelims. Baldauf entered the race with a 3:54.22 "B" Standard qualifying time that ranked him 36 out of 45 total runners in that event. Wyatt needing to finish in the top-12 to qualify for the finals needed a strong race. Baldauf delivered just that coming in 11th to qualify for the finals. Due to unfortunate events to follow, Wyatt would be disqualified from the 1500m finals and rest of the meet for failing to check-in in time for the 3000sc that was set to commence later in the evening. Though not the end result the coaching staff or Baldauf was looking for, Wyatt turned in a monster senior campaign. This includes seven school records between indoor and outdoor and 10 top-10 all-time finishes between indoor, outdoor and cross-country. Baldauf also earned GPAC Track Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
Darby Deffenbaugh was first for the Tiger field athletes to compete in the hammer throw. Deffenbaugh didn't record a distance, fouling on all three throws. Darby concluded a very strong career and senior season though recording three top-10 all-time marks in DWU history. Her best being third all-time in the outdoor hammer throw with a distance of 50.10m and third in the indoor weight throw with a 14.95m toss.
On Day two of three at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Lila Gronseth was set to compete in the shot put. Lila finished 25th with a best toss of 12.69m. This was Gronseth second appearance at the National level after qualifying for the shot put during the indoor season in the fall. Lila, also a senior, finished a strong career that included five top-10 all-time marks in DWU history. Her top marks were second all-time marks in the shot put during the outdoor season of 13.93m and 13.24m for the indoor season.
First time National qualifier Abbigail Magnuson also competed in the shot put posting a distance of 12.27m. Magnuson finished the season strong with back-to-back career bests of 13.11m and 13.36m in the shot put with the 13.36m throw coming in at third all-time, just behind teammate Gronseth. Abbigail currently has two marks in the top-10 all-time record book.
Head Coach, Matt Rosado had this to say when asked about the championship week, "Although championship week didn't go as we wanted, I'm super proud of how everyone competed, and the efforts put forth to be afforded the opportunity to compete at the highest level."
Click the link for full results from the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
The Dakota Wesleyan Tiger Track & Field team is graduating 13 key athletes from the team that will not be returning for the 2023-24 season. Besides the three listed above, that list includes Abby Ferris who had a top-10 mark in the high jump with a height of 1.43m. Justin Sorensen finished his career with one school record, seven top-10 all-time finishes in distance races with the top marks coming in the indoor 1000m with his 4th all-time finish of 2:34.91 and the 1500m outdoor 4th all-time time of 4:04.92. Cobey Carr who had career bests of 13.18m in the triple jump, 6.21m in the long jump and 39.21m in the javelin throw. Cale Strong finished with two top-10 marks in the long jump (6.75m 7th) and the triple jump (13.38m 10th). Nate Rupprecht finished his career with the second-best all-time finish in the heptathlon during the indoor season (4161) and third best all-time in the decathlon during the outdoor season (5924). Nate also is top-10 all-time in the indoor 60m hurdles and pole vault. Avany Long finished her career with seven top-10 all-time finishes with her bests coming in the heptathlon (3709) good for 3rd all-time and indoor 60m hurdles at 3rd all-time with her 9.53 time. Ashtyn Evans finished her career with two top-10 all-time finishes coming in the outdoor triple jump with a distance of 10.66m and her 6th all-time jump of 10.65m in the indoor triple jump. Ryan Kienzle finished his career with four top-10 all-time mark in throwing events with the bests coming in the discus with his 4th all-time throw of 46.82m and his 48.15m 5th all-time toss in the hammer throw. Annika Vermeulen finished her career with five indoor top-10 all-time finishes with the bests coming in the 1000m with her 6th all-time finish of 3:20.09 and her 5:59.5 time in the mile run. Layne Lewis finished with career bests of 4:51.60 in the mile, 4:44.31 in the 1500m and 9:49.89 in the 3000m.