MITCHELL, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Track & Field competed against Dakota State and other local competition at the 2025 Snow Tiger Open in the DWU Sports & Wellness Center.
For the women's portion of the roster, the Tigers recorded seven total marks that placed athletes in the top 100 of their respective events in the NAIA. Shirley Huckins reached the highest mark of 30th in the country in the women's weight throw after recording a personal-best 14.71m, which also placed her sixth in program history in the event. She was followed by Samantha Kludt, who was also able to post a personal record with a 13.71m throw, putting her at 52nd in the NAIA. The women's high jump saw Riley Jones place second on the day with a 1.45m leap, good for 80th in the country, while Stacy Ruelas-Hertz put up an impressive performance in the 60m hurdles, recording a personal-record time of 9.60 seconds, putting herself in the school history books with the third-best mark in the event. Her time also sits 72nd in the NAIA. Hailey Oswald was able to record two top-100 marks in mid-distance events, recording a 1:48.72 (NAIA #48) in the 600m, good for eighth in DWU's record books, and following it up with a personal record in the 400m at a time of 1:02.13 (NAIA #77), putting her at seventh in program history. Freshman Ella Pollreisz rounded out the squad's top performances, finishing just behind Oswald in the 600m with a mark of 1:48.97 (NAIA #51), squeaking into DWU's all-time top-10 with her effort.
On the men's side of competition, Dakota Wesleyan was led by Quenton Walls, who recorded a season-best mark in the long jump with a 6.07m leap while taking second place in the triple jump with a 13.05m mark, good for 41st in the NAIA. In the pole vault, Carter Harris recorded a 4.05m final mark that puts him 52nd in the country, while also placing second at the Snow Tiger Open and posting a season-best. Gage Hohn won the men's high jump and was able to leap into the top 100 with the country's 64th-best mark at the moment of 1.85m. Competition in the 600m saw Tigers place second and third with marks both inside the top 70 nationally, as Dustin Lemaster recorded DWU's fifth all-time mark in the race with a 1:25.49 (NAIA #60), while Kellen Brozik finished just slightly behind at 1:25.86 (NAIA #62), putting him at seventh in program history. While they were not able to find their way into the national standings individually, Will Prunty and Tayne Herrmann both made their way into the DWU record books as Prunty stands sixth all-time in the 60m with a mark of 7.18 seconds, while Herrmann was able to solidify his seventh-place spot in the program's 60m hurdle marks with a 9.25-second recorded time. Prunty and Herrmann were able to contribute to the relay team alongside Brozik and Quincy Stephens, who posted a 3:36.43 in the men's 4x400m, putting themselves in 50th overall in the NAIA.
DWU Track & Field will be back in action in the new year as it will compete in the Dordt Indoor Open on Saturday, January 10th. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.