BROOKINGS, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan University Men's & Women's Track & Field competed at the South Dakota State University Holiday Open to begin competition for the season.
Dakota Wesleyan was a part of a field of top-end competition, including the region's top colleges across all divisions, including NCAA Division I. The Tigers had 16 total athletes compete. On the women's side, DWU was led by Hailey Oswald, who placed ninth in the women's 300m race, posting a time of 45.70 to kick off her junior campaign. Sophomore Ashlyn Maldonado finished in 11th place in the 300m, just two spots behind Oswald, with a mark of 48.76 seconds, while Ava Ludwig cracked the top 10 in the women's high jump with a final mark of 1.48m. In the field, Shirley Huckins and Samantha Kludt had throws of 13.94m and 13.02m in the women's weight throw to kick off the 2025-26 season, respectively. Devin Hongslo also competed in the women's shot put but scratched her attempts. Stacy Ruelas-Hertz made an appearance for DWU in the 60m hurdles, recording a time of 10.01 to round out the women's team's effort.
For the men's track and field team, freshman Kellen Brozik led the Tigers with a seventh-place finish in the men's 400m, posting a time of 51.73 and finishing amongst top-end talent from the GPAC, along with representatives from NCAA Divisions I and II. Mitchell local Will Prunty would place ninth in the men's 200m with a time of 22.81 to start his collegiate track career and would finish ahead of Brozik, who placed 19th with a time of 23.46. Gage Dietterle was the lone DWU representative who competed in the mile with a 5:14.35 final time. Quenton Walls grabbed 16th in the long jump with a 6.03m final mark, and Cash Hunter posted a 5.85m to finish inside the top 20. Talan Heezen and Carter Harris tied in the pole vault by both posting leaps of 3.65m, placing them both in 18th in the field. Quincy Stephens and Tayne Herrmann rounded out the lineup for the day, with Stephens finishing top-20 in the 200m, and Herrmann posting a 37.77 time in the 300m.
DWU Track & Field will be back in action at the DWU Snow Tiger Open at home in Mitchell on Saturday, December 13th. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.