(Wednesday, April 5; Sioux Center, Iowa) Derek Heynen, a senior at Western Christian High School (Iowa), has announced his intention to attend Dordt and join the Defender track & field program.  

"We are thrilled that Derek has chosen to participate in track and field at Dordt.  Derek has made steady progress as a thrower throughout his high school career.  He is a consistently hard worker in athletics and the classroom.  He is the type of person people want for a teammate and he will be a key component for building our throws program," said Dordt track & field coach Craig Heynen.  

Heynen is a thrower for the Wolfpack and has personal bests of 47-10 in the shot put and 143 in the discus.  He was a 2022 state meet qualifier in the discus and earned all-conference honors in both events last season. 

"I chose Dordt University because of the emphasis it puts on faith and academics as well as athletics. I was very impressed with the engineering program along with the track and field coaches," said Heynen.  

Derek is the son of Dave and Arlene Heynen of Sioux Center, Iowa. He plans to study mechanical engineering at Dordt.  

Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, is a comprehensive Christian college rooted in the Reformed tradition. The Defender athletic program is a part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and the Mid-American Collegiate Hockey Association (MACHA).?    

U.S. News & World Report, Money Magazine, Forbes.com, Washington Monthly, and Princeton Review all list Dordt on their best colleges lists. Dordt is home to approximately 1,500 students.