Warriors Compete at Pair of Meets Over Weekend

MITCHELL, S.D. – Midland University delivered a strong showing over the weekend, competing at both the DWU Alumni Open in Mitchell, South Dakota, and the Washburn Open in Topeka, Kansas.

At the DWU Alumni Open, the Warriors secured multiple top-10 finishes, including several event victories. Evan Shepard won the 60-meter hurdles (8.48), while Kenya Ford claimed first in the 200 meters (22.72). In the 400 meters, Chris Medlock led the way with a first-place finish (51.26), followed closely by Noah Sherman in second (51.31). Braden Taylor topped the field in the 600 meters (1:26.92), and Jonathan Mahoney captured the 800-meter title (2:02.23), with Blake Olbrich taking second (2:05.92). Hudson McCafferty won the 1000 meters (3:07.08), while Jay Stoa III placed second (3:18.68). Felix Grave finished sixth in the 3000 meters (9:44.22).

In the sprints, JJ McQueen finished second in the 60 meters (7.16), followed by Aiden Mountain in third (7.20), Robert Atwater in fourth (7.23), Jason Jeffers in seventh (7.38), Noah Sherman in ninth (7.42), and Jameson Painter in tenth (7.43). In the 60-meter hurdles, Atwater added a runner-up finish (8.99).

The Warriors also excelled in the field events. Jonah Martinez won the high jump (1.84m), with Garrett Guindon also clearing 1.84m to take second on judge's decision. Guindon also won the long jump (6.71m), with Ford finishing second (6.43m) and Jeffers placing sixth (5.88m). In the pole vault, Pampa Raffin took second (3.86m).

Midland dominated the triple jump, with Atwater winning (14.02m), Guindon placing fourth (13.27m), Ford finishing fifth (13.14m), and Jeffers coming in seventh (11.22m). In the throws, Nate Osness took second in the weight throw (14.59m) and fifth in the shot put (13.35m), while Hunter Weirich placed sixth in the weight throw (13.18m) and Kenny Johnson was tenth (10.62m). Jase Voorhees (9th, 12.22m) and Caleb Wagner (10th, 12.03m) also earned top-10 finishes in the shot put.

The Warriors capped the meet with a victory in the 4x400-meter relay, as Olbrich, Sherman, Ford, and Medlock combined for a winning time of 3:29.47.

At the Washburn Open, Midland competed against strong competition in Topeka. Shandon Reitzell finished ninth in the 600-yard run (1:13.54) and placed 34th in the 400 meters (49.99). In the 800 meters, Lucas Hjortkjaer took 24th (1:55.58), while Henri Stoeckermann placed 29th (1:55.95).

Next weekend, the Warriors will send a group of athletes to the Bearcat Invite in Maryville, Missouri while the bulk of the team will compete at the Wildcat Indoor Classic in Wayne, Neb. on Saturday.