YANKTON, S.D. — Members of both the Dakota Wesleyan Men's and Women's Track & Field teams traveled to Yankton to compete in the Mount Marty Last Chance Meet ahead of the GPAC Indoor Championships.
The men's team saw a couple of athletes set new personal records ahead of the indoor track and field postseason, with the group being led by freshman Dustin Lemaster. The Maricopa, Arizona native recorded new PRs in both the 200m and 400m races, posting a 23.48s in the 200 to finish in 10th place, and recording a 51.31s in the 400 to finish in the top five. Kellen Brozik was able to finish ahead of Lemaster in the 400m race, posting a 52.28-second time to finish seventh, while putting up a respectable 23.59 in the 200m. The other Tiger to compete in the men's 200m was Quincy Stephens, who finished 11th with a time of 23.56 seconds. Stephens joined Sean DeBlieck, Trevor Sladky, and Mikey Hart in the prelims of the 60m dash, with Hart qualifying for finals, posting a final mark of 7.21 seconds to finish seventh overall. The field events saw the men's team's other personal-best, with freshman Trayton Moore recording an 11.91m throw in the shot put to finish in the top-10 of the event. Quenton Walls had another stout performance in both the long jump, placing 10th with a 5.82m leap, and finishing first place in the triple jump with a 13.05m mark. Graham Huffman was able to claim second place in the 1000m race and record a 2:53.69 to round out the regular season. The effort was completed on the men's side by Tayne Herrmann, who placed seventh in the high jump with a 1.66m leap, and placed fourth overall in the finals of the 60m hurdles with a time of 9.23 seconds.
DWU's women's squad also was able to pick up some personal bests ahead of the indoor postseason, with Dani Deffenbaugh leading the way. The junior out of Kimball set new personal records in the 60m hurdles, finishing third with a 9.78-second mark, and the shot put, recording a throw of 9.29m. Her efforts in the jumps also gave her solid marks, finishing top-10 with a 1.41m leap in the high jump and a ninth-place finish in the long jump with a 4.68m recorded best attempt. Hailey Oswald was able to record a personal record in the 60m prelims, hitting 8.45 seconds, along with a new season-best in the 200m, finishing eighth with an 8.45-second time. Ella Pollreisz rounded out the PRs for the women's team with a second-place finish in the mile, where she crossed the finish line at 5:38.84. Ashlyn Maldonado and Oswald both competed in the 400m, finishing in eighth and sixth place, respectively, while Riley Jones rounded out DWU's effort in the jumps with a 1.46m leap in the high jump, taking fifth place in the process. Aubrey Cumming posted an 8.58-second time in the prelims of the 60m race. The women's team's results were rounded out by a trio of throwers, with Shirley Huckins finishing fifth in the weight throw with a 15.47m heave, Samantha Kludt finishing behind her in 12th with a 13.25m mark, and Devin Hongslo placing seventh in the shot put.
DWU Track & Field will be at the GPAC Indoor Championships in Sioux Center, Iowa on February 20th through the 21st. See the full 2025-26 schedule here.