Men's Track and Field Wins GPAC Championship
FREMONT, Neb. — Doane Men's Track and Field delivered a championship performance over the weekend, winning the 2026 GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 1-2 at Midland.
The Tigers piled up 248 points to run away with the team title. Dordt finished second with 123 points, while Northwestern was third with 109. Mount Marty followed with 106 and Concordia rounded out the top five with 103.5.
Doane's depth was on full display, especially in the field events. The Tigers swept the top four spots in the shot put as Cale Bessler won the title with a mark of 16.49 meters, earning an NAIA "B" standard. Colton Dillon was second at 15.96 meters, Christopher Brown took third at 15.39 meters and Andrew Schmitz placed fourth at 15.11 meters. DaMarcus Cannon added a seventh-place finish.
The Tigers also dominated the discus, taking six of the top eight spots. Brown won the event with an NAIA "B" mark of 50.64 meters, followed by Bessler in second, Jaden Vollenweider in third and Andrew Englund in fourth. Schmitz was sixth and Cohen Rohde added an eighth-place finish.
Schmitz added a GPAC title in the hammer throw, winning with an NAIA "A" standard of 59.23 meters. Dillon placed third, Vollenweider was fifth and Tad Dimmitt finished seventh.
Doane also received individual titles from Tommy Smith in the 110-meter hurdles, Caleb Mulder in the 400 hurdles, Roe Patton in the pole vault, Callan McKinney in the triple jump and Zach Fye in the decathlon.
Smith won the 110 hurdles in 14.57 seconds, while Bladen Garcia added an eighth-place finish. Mulder crossed first in the 400 hurdles in 54.25 seconds, with Zachary Fox placing eighth.
Patton cleared 4.70 meters to win the pole vault, while Ashton Pulliam took fourth. McKinney won the triple jump at 13.90 meters, with Michael Willey placing fourth, Maddox Wagoner sixth and Zebediah Black eighth.
In the decathlon, Fye scored 6,422 points to edge Hastings' Rafer Severson for the title. Tysen Fleischman placed fourth, Pryor Mathews was sixth and Maxwell Fiser finished ninth.
Doane added major points in the high jump as Jackson Kessler placed second at 1.98 meters. Presston Duryea, Peyton Herrick and Bladyn Herrick followed in third, fourth and fifth.
On the track, Michael Grigsby led the distance group with a runner-up finish in the 1,500 meters in 3:56.72. Jayden Wall placed fourth and Porter Bickley finished eighth. Alvin Keter took second in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters, while Wall added an eighth-place finish in the 5,000.
The Tigers closed the meet with a runner-up finish in the 4x400 relay as Joaquin Gutierrez, Orion Ulmer, Connor Bradley and Mulder ran 3:16.13. Gutierrez also placed fifth in the open 400 meters.
Doane added points in the long jump from Willey, who placed second at 7.05 meters, Wagoner in fifth and McKinney in eighth. Mason Crumbliss placed fourth in the javelin, with Ryland Garretson taking eighth.
The championship capped a complete team effort for the Tigers, who scored across sprints, hurdles, distance, jumps, throws, relays and multi-events to secure the GPAC crown.
Doane Men's GPAC Scorers — Top 8 Finishers (All-GPAC for individual Top 8 performances and Top 3 relay performances)
400 Meters
5. Joaquin Gutierrez — 48.69 — 4 pts
1500 Meters
2. Michael Grigsby — 3:56.72 — 8 pts
4. Jayden Wall — 3:57.52 — 5 pts
8. Porter Bickley — 3:58.77 — 1 pt
5000 Meters
2. Alvin Keter — 15:03.28 — 8 pts
8. Jayden Wall — 15:38.47 — 1 pt
10,000 Meters
2. Alvin Keter — 31:09.70 — 8 pts
110 Hurdles
1. Tommy Smith — 14.57 — 10 pts
8. Bladen Garcia — 15.45 — 1 pt
400 Hurdles
1. Caleb Mulder — 54.25 — 10 pts
8. Zachary Fox — 56.41 — 1 pt
4x400 Relay
2. Doane — Joaquin Gutierrez, Orion Ulmer, Connor Bradley, Caleb Mulder — 3:16.13 — 8 pts
4x800 Relay
6. Doane — Lucas Gautier, Emmanuel Yego, Luke Bonifas, Michael Grigsby — 7:48.99 — 3 pts
High Jump
2. Jackson Kessler — 1.98m — 8 pts
3. Presston Duryea — 1.93m — 6 pts
4. Peyton Herrick — 1.93m — 5 pts
5. Bladyn Herrick — 1.93m — 4 pts
Pole Vault
1. Roe Patton — 4.70m — 10 pts
4. Ashton Pulliam — 4.25m — 5 pts
Long Jump
2. Michael Willey — 7.05m — 8 pts
5. Maddox Wagoner — 6.70m — 4 pts
8. Callan McKinney — 6.47m — 1 pt
Triple Jump
1. Callan McKinney — 13.90m — 10 pts
4. Michael Willey — 13.54m — 5 pts
6. Maddox Wagoner — 13.31m — 3 pts
8. Zebediah Black — 13.11m — 1 pt
Shot Put
1. Cale Bessler — 16.49m — 10 pts
2. Colton Dillon — 15.96m — 8 pts
3. Christopher Brown — 15.39m — 6 pts
4. Andrew Schmitz — 15.11m — 5 pts
7. DaMarcus Cannon — 14.67m — 2 pts
Discus
1. Christopher Brown — 50.64m — 10 pts
2. Cale Bessler — 49.35m — 8 pts
3. Jaden Vollenweider — 46.98m — 6 pts
4. Andrew Englund — 46.96m — 5 pts
6. Andrew Schmitz — 43.61m — 3 pts
8. Cohen Rohde — 43.07m — 1 pt
Hammer
1. Andrew Schmitz — 59.23m — 10 pts
3. Colton Dillon — 53.56m — 6 pts
5. Jaden Vollenweider — 53.13m — 4 pts
7. Tad Dimmitt — 51.20m — 2 pts
Javelin
4. Mason Crumbliss — 53.32m — 5 pts
8. Ryland Garretson — 49.88m — 1 pt
Decathlon
1. Zach Fye — 6,422 — 10 pts
4. Tysen Fleischman — 5,943 — 5 pts
6. Pryor Mathews — 5,723 — 3 pts
(generated by ChatGPT)