Women's Track and Field 5/19/2026 6:04:00 PM Athletic Communications Staff

Women's Track and Field | NAIA Outdoor National Championship Preview

The Event:

the Dordt University women's track and field team will send 12 athletes to compete in the 2026 NAIA Outdoor National Championship this week in Asheville, N.C.
the 45th-annual championship is a three-day event, beginning Wednesday, May 20 and will conclude on Friday, May 22 with the awards ceremony at 7pm (EST).
the championship will be held at the Karl Straus Track Complex in Asheville, N.C. for the first time in the history of the championship

Championship Format:

all races on the track, except for the 10K and race-walk, have prelim and finals
prelims are held on either Wednesday or Thursday for events on the track; finals are on Friday (exception: 4x800 final is on Thursday)
field events have prelim and finals on the same day; top nine advance to finals (not high jump or pole vault)
top eight finishers in the finals are All-American and earn points for their team on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.
the team with the most points after all 23 championship events (9 field, 11 track and 3 relays) are scored wins the team title.

A Look at the Championship, By the Numbers:

113 teams will send at least one athlete to compete at the championship
587 athletes will compete in an individual event
17 teams will send 10-or-more athletes to compete, including Dordt with 12
- British Columbia has the most with 23, followed by Marian and Doane with 21
16 teams have 10-or-more entries, including Dordt with 11
- British Columbia leads the field with 27 entries, followed by Central Methodist (20)
Dordt has 12 athletes / 11 entries competing at the 2026 championships

At Last Year's Indoor Championship:

Dordt finished in a tie for 22nd place in the overall team standings with 13 points
the Defenders tied Central Methodist (Mo.), Cumberlands (Ky.) and College of Idaho
this was the third time in the last five years the Defenders finished among the top 25 teams
Defender All-Americans (3 events):
- Addy Crow - Steeplechase (6th)
- Makenna Walhof - Discus (5th)
- 4x800 Relay (3rd place) - Jaci Burtis, Shelby Buwalda, Emilee Heynen, Corinne Braun
British Columbia won its fourth consecutive outdoor championship and totaled 105 points, well ahead of runner-up Life (Ga.)

In the Rankings:

Dordt is ranked 7th in the latest USTFCCCA rankings announced earlier today by the national office
Dordt is one of three teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the top 25:
- Doane - #3
- Dordt - #7
- Concordia - #10
the Defenders hold a top 10 ranking in eight events
- #1 - 10,000m
- #2 - Hammer
- #2 - Steeplechase
- #4 - Discus
- #5 - 400m Hurdles
- #8 - 1500m
- #9 - 400m
- #9 - 800m
all three Defender relay teams, 4x400, 4x800 and Distance Medley, are ranked among the top 25 in the NAIA
- 4x400 - 7th
- 4x800 - 4th
- 4x100 - 24th

Defenders Line-Up / Outlook:

Makenna Walhof / Fran Travis - Hammer
- Prelims / Finals - Wednesday at Noon (EST)
  - top nine after three attempts make finals and earn three more throws
- Walhof - ranked 2nd among 27 entries (56.46m)
- Travis - ranked 6th among 27 entries (55.26m)
- both Walhof and Travis are first time qualifiers in the hammer
- Walhof - 2x All-American overall
  - 6th place - Weight Throw (2026 NAIA Indoor)
  - 5th place - Discus (2025 NAIA Outdoor)
- Travis - 1x All-American overall
  - 8th place - Shot Put (2026 NAIA Indoor)
- 4 All-Americans and 8 total returners from 2025
  - Kady Vandemark - 4th (Graceland), Kori Nagel - 5th (Dickinson State), Bella Hall - 6th (British Columbia), Abby Green - 7th (Friends)
- No.1 mark - Maelie Hope, Aquinas (57.56m)
Corinne Braun - 1500m
- Prelims: Wednesday, 3:50pm (Eastern)
- Finals: Friday, 3:10pm (Eastern) (12 advance)
- ranked 11th of 20 runners (4:36)
- Braun - first time qualifier in the 1500m
  - qualified in the 800m last year
- 3x NAIA All-American as a member of the 4x800 relay (2025, 2026 - Indoor, 2025 - Outdoor)
- 3 All-Americans and 6 total returners from 2025
  - Riley Morris - Eastern Oregon (4th), Sarah MacGillivray - British Columbia (6th), Heidi Heldt - Olivet Nazarene (7th)
- top time: Katie Woods - Marian: 4:21
Kaitlyn Wercinski - 400m Hurdles Fran Travis / Makenna Walhof - Discus
- Prelims: Wednesday, 4:30pm (Eastern)
- Finals: Friday, 5:15pm (Eastern) (9 advance)
- ranked 20th of 36 entries (1:02.03)
- 1st time qualifier in the event
- NAIA All-American in the 4x400 (2026 Indoor)
- 4 All-Americans and 16 total returners from 2025
  - Adrianna Rodencal - Concordia (2nd), Ally Hawk - Ind.Wesleyan (5th), Haley Martin - B.Columbia (6th), Jaida Rowe -Hastings (8th)
- top time: Jaida Rowe - Hastings (57.64)
- Prelims / Finals: Friday, March 6 11am (CST)
- Walhof - ranked 9th of 21 (17.86m)
- Travis - ranked 21st of 21 (16.67m)
- both Travis and Walhof are first time qualifiers in the event
- Walhof was an All-American in the discus (outdoor) last season
- Travis was a national qualifier in the discus and shot put last season
- top mark: Kori Nagel - Dickinson State (19.40m)
- 3 All-Americans, 9 total returners from 2025
  - Kori Nagel - Dickinson State (3rd), Maelie Hope - Aquinas (6th), Mia Knigge - Doane (8th)
Addy Crow, Macy Marshall - Steeplechase
- Prelims: Wednesday, 7:25pm (EST)
- Finals: Friday, 2:30 (EST) top 14 make finals
- Crow - ranked 10th of 20 entries (11:10)
- Marshall - ranked 18th of 20 entries (11:19)
- Crow - returning All-American (6th place in 2025) in the event
- Marshall - 1st time qualifier
- Crow - 3x All-American (steeplechase, Mile and DMR in 2026 Indoor)
- 6 All-Americans returning, 9 total from 2025
  - Defending champion - Elysse Fleming (B.Columbia), Kylee Quinton -College of Idaho (2nd), Abby Knepper - Mount Mercy (4th), Courtney Sporrer - Morningside (5th), Addy Crow - Dordt (6th), Madalenn Fee - Cottey (7th)
- top time: Elysse Fleming (10:10)
Fran Travis - Shot Put
- Prelims / Finals: Thursday, 5pm (EST)
  - top nine after three attempts make finals and earn three more throws
- ranked 19th among the 20 qualifiers (13.49m)
- 1st time qualifier in the event at NAIA Outdoor
- earned All-American honors at the 2026 Indoor in the event (8th place)
- top mark: Sydney Duncan - IU Kokomo (16.76m)
- 4 All-Americans, 8 total returners from 2025
  - Sydney Duncan - IU Kokomo (Defending Champion); Kori Nagel - Dickinson State (4th), Lauren Cima - Providence (6th), Amanda Gustafson - Olivet Nazarene (8th)
Fran Travis / Makenna Walhof - Discus
- Prelims / Finals - Friday at 11:45am (EST)
  - top nine after three attempts make finals and earn three more throws
- Travis - ranked 3rd among 20 entries (49.11m)
- Walhof - ranked 9th among 20 entries (47.68m)
- Walhof - 2x All-American overall
  - 6th place - Weight Throw (2026 NAIA Indoor)
  - 5th place - Discus (2025 NAIA Outdoor)
- Travis - 1x All-American overall
  - 8th place - Shot Put (2026 NAIA Indoor)
  - qualified in discus last year (12th place)
- 4 All-Americans and 11 total returners from 2025
  - Sydney Duncan - 2nd (IU Kokomo), Maelie Hope - 3rd (Aquinas), Makenna Walhof - 5th (Dordt), Mary Lorang - 7th (Benedictine)
- No.1 mark - Chloe Gunderson, Dickinson State (50.48m)
4x400 Relay
- Prelims: Thursday, 8:15pm (Eastern)
- Finals: Friday, 6:15 (Eastern) 9 advance
- ranked 6th of 21 teams (3:46)
- Defenders qualified, did not place in top eight, last season (12th place)
- finished seventh and earned All-American at 2026 Indoor
- Defending Champion: Life
- fastest qualifying time: Olivet Nazarene - 3:42
- 4 All-Americans, 13 total teams return
  - Life (1st), Madonna (2nd), Central Methodist (2nd), Concordia (7th), Doane (8th)
4x800 Relay
- Prelims: Wednesday, 6:15pm (Eastern)
- Finals: Thursday, 6:10pm (Eastern) - 9 advance
- ranked 4th of 26 teams (9:07)
- Defenders placed 3rd, earned All-American honors, last year
- finished 4th at the 2026 NAIA Indoor
- fastest qualifying time: Saint Xavier - 9:00
- Defending Champion: British Columbia (won four straight)
- 7 All-American, 20 total teams return
  - B.Columbia (1st), Dordt (3rd), Marian (4th), Cornerstone (5th), Taylor (6th), Aquinas (7th), Rocky Mountain (8th)