The Event: 

• the Dordt University men's track and field team will compete in three different meets this week
• on Wednesday, April 22, most of the Defenders squad will take part in the Mount Marty Twilight in Yankton, S.D.
• up next will be the Drake Relays, a three-day event held at Bulldog Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa, beginning on Thursday, April 23 and ending on Saturday, April 25
• a few Defenders (5000m, Steeplechase) will also compete at the Kip Janvrin Open on Friday night, April 24, in Indianola, Iowa

How to Follow / Important Links:

• for Mount Marty Twilight:
  • Live Results | Schedule of Events | Entries
• for Drake Relays:
  • Live Results | Schedule of Events | Entries
• for Kip Janvrin Open:
  • Live Results | Schedule of Events | Entries

Schedule Outlook:

• this is the fifth and final week of competition for the Defenders during the outdoor regular 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 Red Raider Open last weekend, a two-day meet held at DeValois Stadium in Orange City, Iowa
• a limited number of Defenders competed on day two due to the cold, windy conditions
• two Defenders, Landon Fransman and Willem Den Hartog, hit the qualifying mark in their respective event
• Den Hartog hit the NAIA standard and set the program record (again) in the pole vault
• Fransman hit the national mark in the high jump where he cleared 6-09, second-best all-time in program history
• Dordt won three events; Den Hartog (pole vault), Fransman (high jump) and Luke Swanson (1500m)
• Aidan Schaap and Nathan Adams completed their first decathlon
  • Schaap finished sixth and had the fourth best point total in Defenders history
  • Adams placed eighth overall and had the sixth best point total in Defenders history
• the Defenders totaled nine all-time top 10 mark / times
• the Defenders registered 16 personal best times / marks
• Defender athletes recorded 35 top 10 finishes

National Qualifiers This Season (3):

• Willem Den Hartog - Pole Vault (11th)
• Landon Fransman - High Jump (5th)
• 4x400 Relay (8th) - Schelhaas, Schmoll, Schroder, Davelaar

All-Time Top 10's This Outdoor Season (18): 

• Willem Den Hartog - Pole Vault (1st)
• Landon Fransman - High Jump (T2nd)
• Derek Heynen - Shot Put (3rd)
• Ben Van Eps - Javelin (4th)
• Aidan Schaap - Decathlon (4th)
• Grant Busker - High Jump (T5th)
• Derek Heynen - Hammer (6th)
• Nathan Adams - Decathlon (6th)
• Thomas Peltzer - Shot Put (6th)
• Steven Hebert - 10,000m (7th)
• Micah Evenhouse - Pole Vault (8th)
• 4x100 Relay - Luke Nikkel, Levi Davelaar, Jacob Schmoll, Noah Schroder (8th)
• 4x200 Relay - Noah Schroder, Levi Davelaar, Landon Meerdink, Isaac Davelaar (8th)
• Thomas Peltzer - Hammer (9th)
• Aidan Schaap - Long Jump (T9th)
• Derrek Vander Leest - 10,000m (9th)
• Ethan Hoolsema - Hammer (10th)
• Isaac Davelaar - 200m (10th)

School Records for Outdoor Season (1):

• Willem Den Hartog - Pole Vault 

Top Performances This Outdoor Season / bold denotes last time out:

• 100m - Jacob Schmoll: 10.94
• 200m - Levi Schelhaas: 21.89
• 400m - Isaac Davelaar: 48.01
• 800m - Isaac Davelaar: 1:52
• 1500m - Justin Kroeze: 4:01
• 5000m - Caleb Van Beek: 15:38
• 10,000m - Steven Hebert: 31:59
• 110m Hurdles - Wyatt Tschida: 16.13
• 400m Hurdles - Will Gutzmer: 57.24
• Steeplechase - Hudson Hamilton: 9:51
• High Jump - Landon Fransman: 2.06m / 6-09"
• Pole Vault - Willem Den Hartog: 4.80m / 15'09"
• Long Jump - Micah Schaap: 7.04m / 23'01.25"
• Triple Jump - Aidan Schaap: 12.65m / 41'06"
• Shot Put - Derek Heynen: 14.81m / 48'07.25"
• Discus - Derek Heynen: 43.13m / 141'-06"
• Hammer - Derek Heynen: 49.25m / 161'07"
• Javelin -  Ben Van Eps: 57.34m / 188'01"
• Decathlon: Aidan Schaap: 5,400pts
• 4x100 Relay: 42.29 (Luke Nikkel, Levi Davelaar, Jacob Schmoll, Noah Schroder)
• 4x400 Relay: 3:14 (Levi Schelhaas, Jacob Schmoll, Noah Schroder, Isaac Davelaar)
• 4x800 Relay: 7:55 (Obbink, Landman, Kroeze, Rozenboom)
• 4x200 Relay: 1:29.34 (Noah Schroder, Levi Davelaar, Landon Meerdink, Isaac Davelaar)

Defenders in the Top 20 in GPAC Performance List (April 21) (69):

• 100m:    
  • Jacob Schmoll - 13th
• 200m:
  • Levi Schelhaas - 8th
  • Isaac Davelaar - 11th
• 400m:
  • Isaac Davelaar - 1st
  • Noah Schroder - 5th
  • Jacob Schmoll - 7th
  • Bennett Wassenaar - 14th
• 800m:
  • Isaac Davelaar - 3rd
  • Trace Obbink - 11th
  • Ezra Landman - 12th
  • Luke Swanson - 15th
  • Anderson Schuttinga - 16th
  • Sam May - 18th
  • Kaden Van Wyngarden - 20th
• 1500m:
  • Justin Kroeze - 5th
  • Jackson Prins - 7th
  • Luke Swanson - 9th
  • Jonathan Breems - 10th
  • Ezra Landman - 13th
  • Tyler Rozenboom - 15th
  • Hudson Hamilton - 19th
• 5000m:
  • Caleb Van Beek - 8th
  • Derrek Vander Leest - 10th
  • Luke Swanson - 11th
  • Steven Hebert - 13th
  • Chase Kamp - 14th
  • Brett Gifford - 16th
  • Isaac Vos - 19th
  • Tavin Schroeder - 20th
• 10,000m:
  • Steven Hebert - 4th
  • Derrek Vander Leest - 5th
  • Chase Kamp - 7th
  • Brett Gifford - 8th
  • Isaac Vos - 10th
  • Justin Rygh - 13th
• 110m Hurdles:
  • Wyatt Tschida - 17th
• 400m Hurdles:
  • Will Gutzmer - 9th
  • Scott Kroll - 15th
  • Wyatt Tschida - 16th
  • Isaac Hartman - 20th
• Steeplechase:
  • Hudson Hamilton - 2nd
  • Truman Johnson - 3rd
  • Levi Landman - 5th
  • Isaac Fagan - 6th
  • Lawson Burkhart - 7th
  • Sammy King - 11th
  • Tavin Schroeder - 14th
• High Jump:
  • Landon Fransman - 1st
  • Grant Busker - 4th
• Pole Vault:
  • Willem Den Hartog - 1st
  • Micah Evenhouse - 4th
  • Nathan Adams - 6th
  • Isaac Fergen - 10th
  • Cody Brown - 20th
• Long Jump:
  • Micah Schaap - 2nd
  • Aidan Schaap - 13th
• Triple Jump:
  • Aidan Schaap - 13th
• Shot Put:
  • Derek Heynen - 7th
  • Thomas Peltzer - 11th
• Discus:
  • Derek Heynen - 17th
• Hammer:
  • Derek Heynen - 14th
  • Thomas Peltzer - 20th
• Javelin:
  • Ben Van Eps - 4th
• Decathlon:
  • Aidan Schaap - 5th
  • Nathan Adams - 9th
• 4x100 Relay - 4th (Luke Nikkel, Levi Davelaar, Jacob Schmoll, Noah Schroder)
• 4x400 Relay - 1st (Miller, Schaap, Heinrichs, Davelaar)
• 4x800 Relay - 5th (Obbink, Landman, Kroeze, Rozenboom)