The Event: 

• the Dordt University men's track and field team is set to compete in its final meet, the USD Twilight, prior to the NAIA National Championships
• the Defenders will send a limited number of entries to compete on Friday
• Friday's events will begin at 3pm (field) and 3:30pm (track)
• all of the events will take place at the Lillibridge Complex on the campus of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D.

How to Follow / Important Links:

• Live Results | courtesy of Dakota Timing
• Schedule of Events | Heat Sheets / Flight Sheets
• Watch ($$) 

Schedule Outlook:

• this is the final week of competition, prior to the NAIA Championships, 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
• the GPAC Championship was held last weekend in Fremont, Neb.
• this year's NAIA outdoor championship will be in Asheville, N.C.and runs from May 20-22

Last Time Out:

• the Defenders finished second out of 11 teams and two Defender entries won titles at the 2026 GPAC Outdoor Championships held last weekend in Fremont, Neb.
• GPAC Champions:
  • Grant Busker - High Jump
  • 4x800 Relay (Trace Obbink, Luke Swanson, Ezra Landman, Kaden Van Wyngarden)
• National Qualifiers:
  • 4x800 relay
• All-Time Top 10's:
  • Will Gutzmer - 400m Hurdles (#10)
  • Levi Landman - Steeplechase (#7)
  • Lawson Burkhart - Steeplechase (#8)
  • Derrek Vander Leest - 10,000m (#7)
  • Chase Kamp - 10,000m (#8)
  • Brett Gifford - 10,000m (#10)
  • Aidan Schaap - Long Jump (#10)
  • 4x100 Relay - Luke Nikkel, Levi Davelaar, Jacob Schmoll, Levi Schelhaas (#5)
  • Aidan Schaap - Decathlon (#3)
• 30 personal bests
• 28 all-conference entries:
  • 100m (1):
    • Jacob Schmoll - 8th: 11.79
  • 400m (2):
    • Noah Schroder - 4th: 48.54
    • Jacob Schmoll - 8th: 49.52
  • 400m Hurdles (1):
    • Will Gutzmer - 6th: 55.99
  • 800m (1):
    • Ezra Landman - 8th: 1:55
  • 1500m (3):
    • Kaden Van Wyngarden - 3rd: 3:56
    • Hudson Hamilton - 5th: 3:58
    • Justin Kroeze - 7th: 3:58
  • Steeplechase (5):
    • Levi Landman - 2nd: 9:41
    • Lawson Burkhart - 4th: 9:47
    • Truman Johnson - 5th: 9:55
    • Isaac Fagan - 6th: 9:56
    • Sammy King - 8th: 10:13
  • 5000m (3):
    • Caleb Van Beek - 5th: 15:32
    • Derrek Vander Leest - 6th: 15:34
    • Luke Swanson - 7th: 15:36
  • 10,000m (3):
    • Derrek Vander Leest - 5th: 31:53
    • Chase Kamp - 6th: 31:53.1
    • Brett Gifford - 8th: 32:23
  • Decathlon (1):
    • Aidan Schaap - 7th: 5,706pts
  • Discus (1):
    • Derek Heynen - 5th: 45.82m / 150-04
  • High Jump (1): 
    • Grant Busker - 1st: 1.98m / 6-06
  • 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
  • Shot Put (1):
    • Derek Heynen - 5th: 15.11m / 49-07
  • 4x800 Relay - 1st: 7:39 (Obbink, Swanson, Landman, Van Wyngarden)

All-Time Top 10's This Outdoor Season (26): 

• Will Gutzmer - 400m Hurdles (#10)
• Levi Landman - Steeplechase (#7)
• Lawson Burkhart - Steeplechase (#8)
• Derrek Vander Leest - 10,000m (#7)
• Chase Kamp - 10,000m (#8)
• Brett Gifford - 10,000m (#10)
• Aidan Schaap - Long Jump (#10)
• 4x100 Relay - Luke Nikkel, Levi Davelaar, Jacob Schmoll, Levi Schelhaas (#5)
• Aidan Schaap - Decathlon (#3)
• 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)
• 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 (tied)

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

• 100m - Jacob Schmoll: 10.61
• 200m - Levi Schelhaas: 21.89
• 400m - Isaac Davelaar: 48.01
• 800m - Isaac Davelaar: 1:52
• 1500m - Kaden Van Wyngarden: 3:56
• 5000m - Chase Kamp: 15:19
• 10,000m - Derrek Vander Leest: 31:53
• 110m Hurdles - Wyatt Tschida: 16.13
• 400m Hurdles - Will Gutzmer: 55.99
• Steeplechase - Levi Landman: 9:41
• 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: 15.50m / 50'10
• Discus - Derek Heynen: 47.70m / 156-06
• Hammer - Derek Heynen: 49.25m / 161-07
• Javelin -  Ben Van Eps: 57.34m / 188-01
• Decathlon: Aidan Schaap: 5,706pts
• 4x100 Relay: 41.82 (Nikkel, Davelaar, Schmoll, Schelhaas)
• 4x400 Relay: 3:11 (Schelhaas, Schmoll, Schroder, Davelaar)
• 4x800 Relay: 7:39 (Obbink, Swanson, Landman, Van Wyngarden)

NAIA Qualifiers (4):

• 4x400 relay - 7th in NAIA
• 4x800 relay - 16th in NAIA
• Landon Fransman - High Jump (5th in NAIA)
• Willem Den Hartog - Pole Vault (13th in NAIA)