SPEARFISH, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan Track & Field competed at the 2026 Dave Little Alumni Mile Open on the west side of South Dakota, hosted by Black Hills State University, an NCAA Division II institution.
For the men's team, Dakota Wesleyan saw five individuals score team points in their respective contests. The top effort came in the 400m race, where Dustin Lemaster and Kellen Brozik placed fourth and fifth, respectively, following impressive showings. Lemaster was able to hit a sub-53-second mark, recording a final time of 52.84, while Brozik finished just behind at 53.06. Tayne Herrmann was able to place seventh in the 60m hurdles with a final time of 9.20s following his preliminary qualification. Quenton Walls was able to grab eighth place in a highly competitive field in the men's triple jump with a top mark of 12.12m, and was the highest-placing men's long jumper for the Tigers, posting a 5.94m leap to place 15th. Trevor Sladky and Sean DeBlieck also added the long jump to their event list, placing 17th and 21st, respectively. DeBlieck found his highest placement of the day in the men's 200m, where he posted a 24.30s time to earn 13th overall. Carter Harris rounded out the men's point-scoring athletes with an eighth-place finish in the pole vault, which saw him clear the 3.70m to earn a spot towards the top of the group. Trayton Moore placed 11th in the shot put with a 11.00m heave, while Gage Dietterle and Graham Huffman rounded out the squad's efforts with top-30 meet times in the 800m race. The men's team finished sixth out of 11 registered groups.
On the women's side, the Tigers had a notably competitive day, including a standout effort from Hailey Oswald, who led the team with a third-place finish in the 400m race with a time of 1:05.27, while also adding more points to the team score with a sixth-place finish in the 200m, recording a final time of 28.29s. She would be followed closely in the 200m by Riley Jones, who earned a team point thanks to her eighth-place time of 28.67 seconds, while Stacy Ruelas-Hertz finished just behind with a posted 28.83s. Ruelas-Hertz really found her groove in the 60m hurdles, placing fifth with a 9.82-second final mark, while Jones claimed more team points thanks to a fourth-place finish in the women's high jump, posting a best leap of 1.49m. Ava Ludwig would also score team points in the high jump, placing sixth on a 1.46m jump, while also grabbing seventh place in the long jump, tying teammate Dani Deffenbaugh, with both athletes recording 4.46m leaps. Shirley Huckins led the throws squad with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw in a field of 27 competitors, posting a 15.02m, and was supported by Samantha Kludt and Devin Hongslo, who finished 14th and 19th in the women's weight throw, respectively. Hongslo would also lead the Tigers in the women's shot put, recording a throw of 10.00m, which earned her 13th place. Aubrey Cumming rounded out the team's effort with a point-scoring 1:12.67 time in the women's 400m race. The women's roster finished sixth place out of eight teams.
DWU Track & Field will be back in action in Storm Lake, Iowa, as the team competes at the Dennis Young Alumni Classic on Saturday, January 24th. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.