Men's Track and Field Wins GPAC Championship
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa — Doane men's track and field delivered a historic weekend at the 2026 GPAC Indoor Track & Field Championships inside the Dordt Rec Center, winning the GPAC team title with a conference-record 240 points. The Tigers finished well clear of the field, with Dordt (150) in second, followed by Concordia (Neb.) (113), Northwestern (Iowa) (90) and Mount Marty (67) to round out the top five.
Doane's title surge was powered by three event championships, multiple NAIA marks, and consistent scoring across every event area—sprints, hurdles, middle distance, distance, relays, jumps, throws and the multis.
The Tigers' distance group was strong in the 3,000 meters, where Porter Bickley captured the GPAC crown in 8:42.34 while Doane placed three in the top four—Alvin Keter was third (8:44.83) and Jayden Wall fourth (8:47.52) as Doane stacked points early. Keter added a runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters at 15:00.44, with Wall right behind in third (15:13.63).
Doane was just as sharp on the track's short end. Tommy Smith delivered a conference championship in the 60-meter hurdles, winning the final in 8.32. The Tigers added more points with Bladen Garcia taking sixth (8.56) and Tate Washington eighth (8.56) to put three Doane scorers in the hurdles final.
In the middle distances, Michael Grigsby turned in one of the meet's best doubles. He won the 1,000 meters in 2:32.07, with a second place in the mile with a time of 4:20.54. Doane also doubled up scoring in the 1,000 with Luke Bonifas finishing third (2:35.05). The Tigers added more points in the 600 meters, led by Emmanuel Yego in fourth (1:23.43) and Lucas Gautier in eighth (1:24.67), while Eli Marez scored in the 800 with an eighth-place run (2:01.04).
The field events produced a major championship push for the Tigers. In the shot put, Doane went 1-2-4-5, led by Cale Bessler's winning throw of 16.85m (NAIA A). Andrew Schmitz placed second at 16.39m, with Colton Dillon fourth (16.21m) and Christopher Brown fifth (15.63m) in a massive points haul.
Schmitz also captured the weight throw title with a winning mark of 18.98m (NAIA A). Doane added another scorer as Tad Dimmitt finished fourth (18.09m) and Brown placed sixth (17.46m) to keep the Tigers' throws group rolling.
In the horizontal jumps, Doane swept the top three in the triple jump. Brian Cech won the GPAC crown with a 14.61m (NAIA B) leap, followed by Callan McKinney in second (14.09m) and Mason Bahm in third (13.95m). Cech added more points by placing second in the long jump at 7.26m (NAIA B), while Doane placed multiple athletes in the top seven including Andrew Harms (fourth, 6.88m), McKinney (sixth, 6.85m) and Maddox Wagoner (seventh, 6.82m).
Doane's jumpers also scored heavily in the verticals. The Tigers posted a strong showing in the high jump, led by Cooper Girmus tying for second on misses after clearing 1.99m. Doane loaded the scoring sheet with Harms third (1.94m), Peyton Herrick fifth (1.94m), Jackson Kessler sixth (1.94m) and Wagoner eighth (1.89m). In the pole vault, Roe Patton finished fourth (4.40m) and Ashton Pulliam fifth (4.40m) to tack on more points.
In the multis, Addison Croghan delivered a big-time finish in the heptathlon, placing second with 4,852 points, while Doane added depth with Tysen Fleischman fifth (4,198).
On the relay oval, Doane's 4x400 quartet of Caleb Mulder, Orion Ulmer, Connor Bradley and Avyan Correa took fourth in 3:26.35, and the Tigers' 4x800 crew of Nate O'Brien, Eli Marez, Alex Fowler and Logan Menke placed fourth in 8:04.49. Individually, Bradley also scored in the sprints with a seventh-place finish in the 60 (7.00) and sixth in the 200 (22.61).
With the GPAC-record 240 points and a meet filled with event victories, podium sweeps and key depth scoring, Doane now turns its focus of the indoor calendar as athletes continue to prepare for the NAIA National Championships.
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