The Event: 

• the Dordt University women's track and field team is set to compete in the Red Raider Open this weekend
• the two-day meet will begin on Thursday, April 16 with the first event of the heptathlon at 1pm
• day two on Friday will resume at 9am with the first of the final three events of the heptathlon, followed by field events at 11am
• all of the events will take place at DeValois Stadium, Korver Field in Orange City, Iowa

How to Follow / Important Links:

• Live Results | courtesy of Dakota Timing
• Watch | courtesy of GPAC Network)
• Schedule of Events 
• Heat Sheets | 

Schedule Outlook:

• this is the fourth week of competition for the Defenders during the outdoor season
• the outdoor season is made up of five weeks of the regular season where the Defenders have scheduled eight meets, leading up to the conference championship in week six
• this year's GPAC Outdoor Championship will be on May 1-2 and hosted by Midland University in Fremont, Neb.
• following a "last chance qualifier" in Vermillion, S.D. on May 8, the Defenders, who qualify, will compete at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Championships
• this year's outdoor championship will be in Asheville, N.C.

Last Time Out:

• the Defenders competed at the Sioux City Relays last weekend, a two-day meet held at Olsen Stadium in Sioux City, Iowa
• Fran Travis set the school record, qualified for nationals and won the discus, one of three top 10 finishes for Travis in field events
• Hannah Thong won the 10,000m in a close finish with her Defenders teammate, Jeni Burtis
• the Defenders sprint medley won their race and recorded the 10th fastest time in program history (Wercinski, Buwalda, Grau, DeYoung)
• 10 Defender entries turned in an all-time top 10 mark / time
  • Fran Travis - Discus (#1)
  • Fran Travis - Hammer (#3)
  • Joy Koole - 5000m (#7)
  • Hannah Thong - 10,000m (#3)
  • Jeni Burtis - 10,000m (#4)
  • Jessica Opfer - 10,000m (#8)
  • Courtney Joiner - 10,000m (#10)
  • Sprint Medley (200m, 200m, 400m, 800m) #10 (Kaitlyn Wercinski, Shelby Buwalda, Lindsay Grau, Arielle DeYoung
  • 4x100 Relay - Anna Heynen, Ada Dekkers, Kailee Altena, Allie Houser (#7)
  • 4x200 Relay - Jenna Balt, Lindsay Grau, Allie Houser, Faith Minderhoud (#9)
• the Defenders registered 25 personal best times / marks
• Defender athletes recorded 35 top 10 finishes

National Qualifiers This Outdoor Season (4): 

• Makenna Walhof - Hammer (3rdd)
• Makenna Walhof - Discus (6th)
• Fran Travis - Discus (3rd)
• Kaitlyn Wercinski - 400m Hurdles (26th)

All-Time Top 10's This Outdoor Season (15): 

• Makenna Walhof - Hammer (1st)
• Fran Travis - Discus (1st)
• Kaitlyn Wercinski - 400m Hurdles (2nd)
• Fran Travis - Hammer (3rd)
• Hannah Thong - 10,000m (3rd)
• Anna Heynen - 100m (T4th)
• Jeni Burtis - 10,000m (4th)
• 4x100 Relay - Heynen, Dekkers, Altena, Den Herder (No.5)
• Anna Heynen - 200m (7th)
• Joy Koole - 5000m (7th)
• Faith Minderhoud - 400m Hurdles (8th)
• Jessica Opfer - 10,000m (8th)
• Karly Champness - Pole Vault (8th)
• Ava Ingwersen - Javelin (9th)
• Courtney Joiner - 10,000m (10th)

GPAC Runners / Athletes of the Week (1): 

• Makenna Walhof - April 1

Rankings:

• Dordt moved up another spot in the latest edition of the USTFCCCA Rankings
• the Defenders are 14th with 144 points
• Dordt is one of three teams from the GPAC in the current top 25; Doane (3) and Concordia (13)
• 10 Defender entries are in the top 20:
  • Fran Travis - Discus (3rd)
  • Makenna Walhof - Hammer (3rd)
  • Makenna Walhof - Discus (6th)
  • Addy Crow - Steeplechase (10th)
  • Fran Travis - Shot Put (12th)
  • 4x400 Relay (13th)
  • Hannah Thong - 10,000m (15th)
  • Jeni Burtis - 10,000m (16th)
  • Jessica Opfer - 10,000m (19th)
  • Jada Koerner - Steeplechase (20th)

Top Performances This Outdoor Season (bold denotes last time out):

• 100m - Anna Heynen: 12.28
• 200m - Kailee Altena: 25.12
• 400m - Shelby Buwalda: 56.93
• 800m - Shelby Buwalda: 2:15
• 1500m - Addy Liston: 4:46
• 5000m - Joy Koole: 18:00
• 10,000m - Hannah Thong: 37:15
• 100m Hurdles - Avery Van Weerdhuizen: 16.04
• 400m Hurdles - Kaitlyn Wercinski: 1:03
• Steeplechase - Addy Crow: 11:20
• High Jump - Ada Smies: 1.59m / 5'02.50"
• Pole Vault - Karly Champness: 2.80m / 9'02.25"
• Long Jump - Taydem Graden: 5.31m / 17'05.25"
• Triple Jump - n/a
• Shot Put - Fran Travis: 13.39m / 43'11.25"
• Discus - Fran Travis: 49.11m / 161'01"
• Hammer - Makenna Walhof: 55.35m / 181'07"
• Javelin - Ava Ingwersen: 34.86m / 114-04"
• Heptathlon: n/a
• 4x100 Relay: 48.0 (Anna Heynen, Ada Dekkers, Kailee Altena, Ayda Den Herder)
• 4x200 Relay: 1:46 Jenna Balt, Lindsay Grau, Allie Houser, Faith Minderhoud 
• 4x400 Relay: 3:53 (Ayda Den Herder, Kaitlyn Wercinski, Ada Dekkers, Shelby Buwalda)
• 4x800 Relay: n/a
• Sprint Medley: 4:15 (Kaitlyn Wercinski, Shelby Buwalda, Lindsay Grau, Arielle DeYoung)

Defenders in the Top 10 in GPAC Performance List (April 15) - 34

• 100m:
  • Anna Heynen - 9th
• 200m:
  • Kailee Altena - 7th
• 400m:
  • Anna Heynen - 6th
  • Shelby Buwalda - 7th
  • Ayda Den Herder - 10th
• 800m:
  • Shelby Buwalda - 1st
  • Arielle DeYoung - 5th
  • Addy Liston - 9th
  • Olivia Hoogland - 10th
• 1500m:
  • Addy LIston - 3rd
  • Raegan Snieder - 7th
  • Olivia Hoogland - 9th
• 5000m:
  • Joy Koole - 1st
  • Isabella Webb - 2nd
  • Jessica Opfer - 7th
• 10,000m:
  • Hannah Thong - 1st
  • Jeni Burtis - 2nd
  • Jessica Opfer - 3rd
  • Courtney Joiner - 4th
• 400m Hurdles:
  • Kaitlyn Wercinski - 3rd
  • Faith Minderhoud - 9th
• Steeplechase:
  • Addy Crow - 2nd
  • Jada Koerner - 3rd
  • Macy Marshall - 5th
  • Elyse Zwart - 6th
• High Jump:
  • Ada Smies - 7th
• Long Jump:
  • Taydem Graden - 9th
• Shot Put:
  • Fran Travis - 2nd
• Discus:
  • Fran Travis- 1st
  • Makenna Walhof - 2nd
• Hammer:
  • Makenna Walhof - 1st
  • Fran Travis - 7th
• 4x100 Relay - 2nd (Heynen, Dekkers, Altena, Den Herder)
• 4x400 Relay - 2nd (Den Herder, Wercinski, Dekkers, Buwalda)