Women's Track and Field Places 12th at Nationals
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — The Doane women's track and field team turned in a strong showing at the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, totaling 22 points to finish 12th in the national team standings at Karl Straus Track. The Tigers recorded three individual and two relay All-America performances and narrowly missed additional podium finishes against the NAIA's top competition.
Leading the way for Doane was senior Kat Vogt, who earned All-America honors in the 400 meters with a fourth-place finish in 54.37 seconds to score five team points. Vogt advanced to the national final after clocking 54.14 in the preliminaries, the fourth-fastest qualifying mark in the field.
The Tigers also shined in relay competition, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the 4x100-meter relay. The quartet of RaeAnn Thompson, Tania Gleason, Elizabeth Wemhoff and Neryah Hekl raced to a time of 45.44 seconds in the championship final to earn All-America honors and eight points, finishing second only to St. Thomas (Fla.). Doane qualified for the final after posting a 45.55 mark in preliminaries, the third-fastest time entering the championship race.
In the 4x400-meter relay, Doane added another All-America performance as Kat Vogt, Jayden Meyer, Kiley Hejtmanek and Tania Gleason placed fourth nationally in 3:45.19, earning five points and All-America recognition. The Tigers finished less than two seconds off the national title in one of the meet's deepest relay fields.
Individually, senior Tania Gleason narrowly missed a berth in the 200-meter final, finishing ninth in preliminaries with a time of 24.17 seconds, one spot shy of advancing. Neryah Hekl also competed in the 100-meter preliminaries and placed 11th overall in 11.89 seconds, narrowly missing a finals berth in a tightly contested sprint field.
Senior Danie Parriott represented Doane in the 800 meters and finished 18th in the national preliminaries with a time of 2:17.93.
Doane also found success in the throwing events, where sophomore Madison Heusinkvelt earned All-America honors in the shot put with a seventh-place finish and a throw of 14.31 meters (46 feet, 11.5 inches), scoring two points for the Tigers. Teammate Delaney Burge added a 14th-place finish in the event with a mark of 13.36 meters (43-10).
In the discus, freshman Paige Bull added another All-America performance for Doane, placing seventh nationally with a throw of 45.78 meters (150-2) to score two team points. Bull delivered her top mark in the finals to finish among the nation's elite throwers and contribute to Doane's strong overall finish.
The Tigers also had representation in the hammer throw, where Trinity Becher finished 10th nationally with a toss of 52.19 meters (171-3), narrowly missing All-America honors, while Kaylie Lotspeich added a 26th-place finish at 45.16 meters (148-2).
The Tigers' performance capped another strong postseason for Doane, as the program placed among the top 12 teams nationally.
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