Makenna Walhof earned All-American honors in the hammer throw and four Defender entries advanced to their respective final to highlight day one for the Dordt University women's track and field team at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Championships. The three-day event is being held at the Karl Straus Track on the campus of UNC-Asheville in Asheville, N.C.

• Results | 

Notes:

• Makenna Walhof claimed All-American honors with a sixth place finish in the hammer
  • coming into the championship as the No.2 seed, Walhof qualified for the finals with her second attempt (54.35m / 178-03) of prelims
  • in seventh place heading into her sixth and final attempt, Walhof recorded her best throw (54.71m / 179-06) and moved up to sixth place in the final standings
  • this is the first time Walhof earned All-American honors in the hammer and her third time overall claiming the national honor
    • 2025 - Discus (5th)
    • 2026 - Weight Throw (6th)
• Fran Travis finished 17th in the hammer with a mark of 50.48m / 165-07
• Corinne Braun advanced to the Friday's 1500m final with her finish in today's prelim
  • Braun finished second in her heat to secure one of the four auto bids from her section into Friday's 12-runner final
  • waiting patiently near the back of a tight pack with one lap to go, Braun ran the fastest 400m split of the field (1:08.3) to move up seven spots by the time the race ended
  • the sophomore crossed the finish line in 4:38.7, just behind the heat winner, Heidi Heldt (Olivet Nazarene)
  • Braun ran the ninth fastest time overall, Sarah MacGillivray (British Columbia) had the fastest time (4:33)
• the Defenders advanced to the eight-team final with their finish in the 4x800 prelim
  • Dordt finished second to LIfe (Ga.) in heat four but secured a spot in the final with the seventh fastest time overall (9:03.36)
  • the Defenders time was a season-best by nearly four seconds
  • Dordt earned the fourth and final at-large spot into the final
  • Shelby Buwalda closed with a 1:09 split (2:14 split overall) over the final 400 to move up three spots 
  • No.1 seed Saint Xavier (Ill.) ran the fastest time (8:58)
  • three teams, Saint Xavier, Indiana Wesleyan and Marian (Ind.). all ran a time under 9:00
  • Defender relay members: Arielle DeYoung, Addy Liston, Corinne Braun and Shelby Buwalda
• Kaitlyn Wercinski finished seventh in the second heat of the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:07
• Addy Crow and Macy Marshall finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in heat one and advanced to the Friday's final in the steeplechase
  • Crow, an All-American in the event at last year's championship, was in fourth place from start to finish and posted a time of 11:12
  • Marshall ran a personal-best time of 11:14 and made her decisive move into fifth place just past the halfway point of the race
  • Ellen-Mary Kearney (Milligan) won the heat with a time of 10:48
  • the second heat did not take place due to weather

All-Americans (1):

• Makenna Walhof - Hammer (6th place)

Advancing to Finals (4):

• Corinne Braun  - 1500m
• 4x800 Relay
• Addy Crow - Steeplechase
• Macy Marshall - Steeplechase

Dordt Results:

• Hammer:
  • Makenna Walhof - 6th place: 54.71m / 179-06
  • Fran Travis - 17th place: 50.48m / 165-07
• Steeplechase (results incomplete b/c second heat did not start due to weather):
  • Addy Crow - 4th in heat, advances to final: 11:12
  • Macy Marshall - 5th - 5th in heat, advances to final: 11:14.5
• 1500m Prelim:
  • Corinne Braun - 2nd in heat, 9th fastest time overall, advances to final: 4:38
• 400m Hurdles Prelim:
  • Kaitlyn Wercinski - 7th in heat two: 1:07
• 4x800 Relay Prelim:
  • 2nd in heat, 7th fastest time ovearll, advances to final: 9:03.36
  • Arielle DeYoung, Addy Liston, Corinne Braun, Shelby Buwalda