The Dordt University men's track and field team pushed one relay through to the finals on day one of the NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships. The 2026 championship event is being held at the Alachua County Sports and Events Center in Gainesville, Fla. 

• Results | PDF 

Coming into the championship as the No.12 seed, the Defenders 4x800 relay finished today's prelims with the sixth fastest time overall. Dordt placed second to Cornerstone (Mich.) in heat three, holding off third place Cumberlands (Ky.) by .07 to secure a spot in Friday's final. The Defenders time of 7:38.69 ranks fifth best in program history and was nearly four seconds faster than their qualifying time. Relay members include Luke Swanson, Anderson Schuttinga, Jamison Velzke and Kaden Van Wyngarden, who ran the fastest 200m split among the eight team to qualify for the finals. 

Dordt placed third in its heat and just missed out on qualifying for finals in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:14.58. The Defenders finished a close third behind first place Bismarck State (N.D.) and second place St.Thomas (Fla.) in the third heat, missing out on finals by .19 of a second to St.Thomas. Dordt's time ranks fourth fastest all-time in program history. Defender relay members include Levi Schelhaas, Jacob Schmoll, Bennett Wassenaar and Isaac Davelaar. 

The Defenders finished 19th in the distance medley prelims and did not advance to finals. The team of Hudson Hamilton, Isaiah Johnson, Sam May and Jackson Prins posted a time of 10:20.13, 10th fastest all-time at Dordt.

Friday Events for the Defenders: 

• Kaden Van Wyngarden - Mile: 11:05am (CST)
• Levi Schelhaas - 400m: 12:25pm (CST)
• Isaac Davelaar / Bennett Wassenaar - 600m: 1:15pm (CST)
• Micah Schaap - Long Jump: 2pm (CST)
• 4x800 Relay FINAL: 5:25pm (CST)