The Dordt University men's track and field team claimed one title and eight all-conference performances on day one of the 2026 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Outdoor Championships. The two-day, championship event is being held at Heedum Field in Fremont, Neb. and hosted by Midland University. 

• Results | 

Notes:

• the Defenders 4x800 relay picked up the lone title on day one and hit the NAIA 'B' standard with the 13th best time in the NAIA
  • in second place at the final handoff, Defenders anchor Kaden Van Wyngarden surged to the lead on his first lap and held off Hastings over the final 100m to secure the win
  • the team of Trace Obbink, Luke Swanson, Ezra Landman and Van Wyngarden posted a season-best time of 7:39.74, just over a second faster than the Broncos
• three Defenders finished among the top eight and earned all-conference honors in the 10,000m, the final event on day one
  • Derrek Vander Leest (5th), Chase Kamp (6th) and Brett Gifford (8th) all ran personal-best times and times that rank among the program's all-time top 10 list
  • Dordt totaled eight points in the event 
• Ben Van Eps and Micah Schaap gave the Defenders a pair of third place finishes in their respective field events
  • Van Eps placed third and earned all-conference honors with a 54.94m mark in the javelin
  • Schaap earned all-conference honors for the fourth consecutive year in the long jump, placing third with a leap of 6.94m / 22-09.25
• Willem Den Hartog and Micah Evenhouse both placed among the top eight in the pole vault
  • Den Hartog, a national qualifier in the event, cleared 4.70m and finished second
    • Den Hartog tied Roe Patton from Doane but Patton won the championship due to the number of misses on the previous height
  • Evenhouse cleared 4.10m and finished sixth
• Aidan Schaap and Nathan Adams completed the first five events of the decathlon
  • Schaap is in fourth place overall with 3,358pts
  • Schaap had personal-bests in four of the five events (100m, 400m, High Jump, Long Jump)
  • Schaap won the long jump and finished among the top five in three of the events
  • Adams is in 13th place with 2,713pts and had his best finish (T7th) in the high jump

GPAC Champions (1):

• 4x800 Relay (Trace Obbink, Luke Swanson, Ezra Landman, Kaden Van Wyngarden)

NAIA Qualifying Times / Marks (1):

• 4x800 Relay (Trace Obbink, Luke Swanson, Ezra Landman, Kaden Van Wyngarden) - 13th in NAIA

All-Conference Entries (8):

• 10,000m (3):
  • Derrek Vander Leest - 5th: 31:53
  • Chase Kamp - 6th: 31:53.1
  • Brett Gifford - 8th: 32:23
• Javelin (1):
  • Ben Van Eps - 3rd: 54.94m / 180-03
• Long Jump (1):
  • Micah Schaap - 3rd: 6.94m / 22-09.25
• Pole Vault (2):
  • Willem Den Hartog - 2nd: 4.70m / 15-05
  • Micah Evenhouse - 6th: 4.10m / 13-05.25
• 4x800 Relay - GPAC Champions: 7:39
  • Obbink, Swanson, Landman, Van Wyngarden

All-Time Outdoor Top 10's (3):

• Derrek Vander Leest - 10,000m (7th)
• Chase Kamp - 10,000m (8th)
• Brett Gifford - 10,000m (10th)

Outdoor Personal Bests (9):

• Aidan Schaap - 100m (Decathlon)
• Aidan Schaap - 400m (Decathlon)
• Aidan Schaap - High Jump (Decathlon)
• Aidan Schaap - Long Jump (Decathlon)
• Nathan Adams - 100m (Decathlon)
• Derrek Vander Leest - 10,000m
• Chase Kamp - 10,000m
• Brett Gifford - 10,000m
• Cade Vlietstra - Javelin