Grant Brouwer and the 4x800 relay took home All-American honors to highlight day two of the NAIA Outdoor Championships for the Dordt University men's track and field team. The three-day championship is held on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.Â
Brouwer, a senior from Sibley, Iowa. put one more mark on his already impressive resume with another All-American finish in the high jump. Brouwer, now a five-time All-American, (2x outdoor, 3x indoor) tied for eighth place overall as he cleared 2.0m on his first attempt.Â
The Defenders 4x800 relay, seeded outside the top 10 coming into this week's championship, ran a season-best time for the second consecutive day and finished fifth overall to take home All-American honors. The team of
Peyton Miller,
Cole Zevenbergen,
Trey Engen and
Payton Mauldin crossed the finish line in 7:38.68, less than a half second faster than Wednesday's prelim time. Spring Arbor, the top seed both coming into the championship and in the prelim, won today's race with a time of 7:31.32, .06 faster than defending champion Indiana Wesleyan in one of the closest races of th day.
Three Dordt entries,
Payton Mauldin (800m),
Joe Anderson (5000m) and the 4x400 relay, all qualified for finals after their respective prelim race. Mauldin pushed through to the finals with the eighth fastest time overall, third best in heat three. The junior finished with a time of 1:52.7 and was only a half second from the fourth best time in a very close and competitive field.Â
Anderson ran a smart, patient race and won his heat in the 5000m semifinals to claim an automatic spot into the finals on Friday. Anderson moved up several spots during the last half of the race and edged out 10,000m champion Davis Boggess (The Master's) with a time of 14:55.87. The senior's time is 10th fastest overall.Â
The Defenders 4x400 relay solidified a spot in Friday's final with an outstanding effort in the final race of the day. Finishing second to William Carey in heat three, Dordt earned the first at-large spot with the third fastest time (3:13.97) in the prelim and second best time of the season. Indiana Tech posted the top time today (3:11.55) while Doane, another team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference, also qualified for the finals. Defender relay members include Mauldin, Zevenbergen,
Luke Wagner and
Levi Schelhaas.
Despite the ninth fastest time overall, Schelhaas missed out on qualifying for finals in the 400m by a technicality. The freshman phenom ran a 48.51, his third best time of the season, but finished fourth in his heat to force him into earning an at-large spot. Schelhaas, however, would not get that spot because Zach Collins (Huntington), by way of his second place finish in heat three, earned an automatic bid into the finals despite a slower time than.
Aidan Vorster joined Anderson in the 5000m prelims but did not advance to finals. Vorster completed the 5000m in 15:02, 20th fastest overall.
Defender Results:Â
- Grant Brouwer - High Jump
- All-American
- 2x All-American during outdoor, 5x overall
- T8th (2.0m)
- 4x800 Relay Final
- Levi Schelhaas - 400m prelim
- did not advance to finals
- 9th fastest time overall, 5th in heat two
- time of 48.51, less than a half second from qualifying for finals
- Payton Mauldin - 800m prelim
- advanced to finals
- 8th fastest time overall (1:52.7)
- finished third in heat three; earned at-large spot into finals
- Joe Anderson - 5000m prelim
- advanced to finals
- finished first in heat one with time of 14:55
- 10th fastest time overall
- Aidan Vorster - 5000m prelim
- did not advance to finals
- 20th fastest time overall (15:02)
- 4x400 Prelim
Friday's Line-Up:
