Warriors Battle Wind and Competition at South Dakota Challenge

VERMILLION, S.D. – Midland University's men's track and field team continued its outdoor campaign this weekend at the South Dakota Challenge, hosted by the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. The Warriors put together a number of solid performances across both track and field events in a competitive collegiate field.

Lucas Hjortkjaer led the way on the track, finishing as runner-up in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.40. He was joined in the top five by teammate Henri Stoeckermann, who placed fifth at 1:54.94. Braden Taylor rounded out the Midland trio in the event with a 10th-place finish in 2:00.34.

In the sprints, Raheem Richards ran a 21.63 in the 200-meter dash to place ninth. In the 400-meter dash, Noah Sherman clocked a 50.63 to finish ninth, just ahead of Chris Medlock who placed 10th in 50.82. Sherman and Medlock teamed up with Blake Olbrich and Stoeckermann in the 4x400-meter relay, taking fifth place with a time of 3:22.96.

Evan Shepard earned an eighth-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 14.89 seconds.

Midland saw a strong showing in the field events as well. In the high jump, Jonah Martinez cleared 1.82 meters to finish sixth, while teammates Garrett Guindon and Hudson McCafferty each tied for eighth with jumps of 1.77 meters. Kenya Ford landed in seventh place in the long jump with a leap of 6.89 meters.

The Warriors claimed three top-six finishes in the triple jump, led by Guindon who placed third with a mark of 14.14 meters. Khalil Thorps-Watt was just behind in fourth at 14.13 meters, while Martinez added a sixth-place finish with a jump of 13.00 meters.

In the throwing events, Nate Osness placed 10th in the shot put with a throw of 13.92 meters. Josiah Meyer placed seventh in the javelin with a mark of 45.69 meters, while Martinez added a 10th-place throw of 38.13 meters to close out the weekend.

Midland will divide its squad next week, with athletes set to compete at three different meets: the Red Raider Open in Orange City, Iowa (April 16–17), the Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kansas (April 17–19), and the Loper Invitational in Kearney, Nebraska (April 19).