The Dordt University women's track and field team won its first Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Indoor Championship in program history in a tight competition against Doane that was not decided until the final event. The two-day championship was held at the Holwerda Family Indoor Track on the campus of Dordt University.
Dordt, a three-time runner-up at the GPAC Indoor Championship, accumulated 200 points and finished one point better than the defending champions Doane Tigers in the closest ever finish at the indoor event.
Holding a three-point lead (192-189) heading into the 19th and final event of the championship, the Defenders 4x400 relay team of
Kaitlyn Wercinski,
Arielle DeYoung,
Ada Dekkers and
Shelby Buwalda finished second behind Doane in the 4x400 relay to secure the needed eight points and win the team championship. Doane and Dordt came into the final race with the top two times in the GPAC and a top 10 time in the NAIA. Doane held the lead throughout the final race but Dordt, running in third over the first two carries, moved into second by the final exchange after an outstanding 58.3 split by Dekkers. Buwalda, with a 56.8 split over the final 400m, guaranteed the Defenders held their placing. Both Doane and Dordt broke the championship record with their times (Doane - 3:52.6, Dordt - 3:53.8) and hit the NAIA qualifying standard again.
Seven Defenders won conference championships, two in record-setting fashion, as both
Fran Travis and
Makenna Walhof established program record marks in the shot put and weight throw, respectively. Travis, seeded third in the field of 18, qualified for the finals with a mark of 12.77m and saved her best for the final attempt with a toss of 13.70m / 44.11.5. The sophomore broke the old Defenders record of 44'11" held by Tereasa Van Zee set in 1994. Walhof, came in as the No.3 seed, broke her own program record with a mark of 17.86m on both her third and sixth attempt.
Shelby Buwalda won her first indoor conference championship in an individual event with a convincing victory in the 600m. The senior led from start to finish and crossed the finish line in 1:34.29, over two seconds faster than second place Danie Parriott, the 2025 champion in the event.
Corinne Braun won her first indoor conference title with a first place showing in the 1000m. Braun held the lead at every 200m split and closed with a 35.1 over the final 200m to get the win.
Addy Crow won the championship in the mile with a time of 5:04.72, nearly 1.5 seconds in front of her Defenders teammate,
Joy Koole (5:06.17). Crow moved into the lead for good by the end of the opening lap and consistently ran 38-39 second 200m splits. The sophomore closed with a 36 over the final 200m and won her first indoor conference title
Joy Koole won the last individual race of the day, claiming the championship in thrilling fashion in the 3000m. In third place after 1200m, Koole moved into second place after the next lap and overtook Courtney Spoorer (Morningside) for the lead with 200m left. The freshman finished the race with her fastest 200m split (36.9) and won by nearly four seconds.
Hannah Thong won the second indoor conference title of her career with a first place showing in the 5000m. Thong, who won the 3000m at last year's championship, finished with a time of 18:28, just ahead of her Defenders teammate
Jessica Opfer (18:33). Thong was among the top four runners throughout the race and moved into the lead for good with 600m left to go.
Dordt totaled 37 all-conference performances, 36 in individual events and one relay (Note: top eight earn all-conference in individual events, top 3 in relays)
Notes:
- Dordt scored points (top 8) in 16 of 19 events
- the Defenders scored double-digit points in eight events
- most points scored by event by Dordt athletes:
- 5000m - 32
- 3000m - 29
- Mile - 26
- 600m / 1000m - 19
- Dordt totaled the most points among the GPAC teams in:
- 600m
- 800m
- 1000m
- Mile
- 3000m
- 5000m
- Weight Throw
- this was the first GPAC Indoor Championship for the Defender women's team
- Dordt has finished in the top five 16 consecutive years and among the top three seven straight years
GPAC Champions (7):
Program Records (2):
NAIA Qualifiers (10):
All-Time Top 10's (12):
Indoor Personal Bests (23):
Defenders in the Top Eight / All-Conference; Relays - Top Three (37):
- 60m Hurdles:
- 200m:
- 400m:
- 600m:
- 800m:
- 1000m:
- Mile:
- 3000m:
- 5000m:
- High Jump:
- Long Jump:
- Shot Put:
- Weight Throw:
- 4x400 Relay - 2nd: 3:35.8
- (Wercinski, DeYoung, Dekkers, Buwalda)
- Pentathlon:
