Men's Track and Field Monday, February 12, 2024 NWC Athletic Communications

Men’s Track & Field Posts 20 Top-10 Finishes in Yankton

Yankton, SD/Brookings SD – For the last regular season meet, the team would be split between Yankton SD, and Brookings SD. This was the last chance to qualify for the Great Plains Confernce Championship happening next weekend, February 16^th and 17^th.

Brookings:
The SDSU meet would be highlighted by the men's 4x400m relay running their fastest time of the the season. They would start with Aziah Ashley, to Braden Kalvelage in his first 400 since middle school, going to AJ Bomgaars, and anchoring with Trey Engelmann. The quad of men would finish in 8^th place overall, in 3:22.05. Prior to the race, Kalvelage would also run the 60m dash in 7.04, only .01 off his PR set last year. Ashley would run a PR in the 200m finishing in 22.55, Engelmann would run the 600m in 1:23.14, and Bomgaars would run the 60m hurdles in 9.12.

Yankton:
Sprints:
The meet would start fast in the 60m dash where Vance Hayenga-Johnson would lead the men in a new PR time of 7.08, ahead of Simphiwe Mashaba would just narowlly miss a PR and finals running a 7.10. In the 200m, Hayenga-Johnson would come back and finish 7^th overall, impressive from being on the inside lane. In the 400m, just making the Top-20, Gunner Vargas would hit a PR finishing in 55.37, barely beating his brother, Coltin Vargas, in the same race.

Distance:
The lone Raider to run the 600m, Cale Sudbeck would finish 6^th overall. One more lap longer in the 800m, Payton Van Sickle, Carson Engbers, Sam Harrison, and David Bernhagen would all run PR times in the 800m. Van Sickle would finish 6^th, Engbers 7^th, Harrison 10^th, and Bernhagen 11^th. Moving up the mile distance, Ben VanDeBerg would run a 4:31 for another Raider PR on his way to winning the event. Fellow distance runner Ashton Hughes would run debut his indoor season and finish 8^th place. In the 3000m run, Jacob Shaffer took 5^th place, just off his personal best. The longest distance race of the day, the 5000m run, would see Brayden Dirks and Braeden Brough both PR in the distance, finishing 4^th, and 6^th, respectively.

Jumps:
The jumps wouls start with Lane Johnson would just barely miss a PR height through changing poles and different equipment, ending in an 8^th place finish. In the other vertical jump, Vargas would come back from his 400m, and tie for 6^th with Donovan Elmore at 1.77m. In the horizontal jumps Mashaba came back from his 60m dash to get 3^rd in the long jump with a jump of 6.76m, just off his season best. Will Bunn finishing in 8^th at 6.32m, and Hayenga-Johnson in 16^th at 5.87m. Finishing off the top 20 finishes happening in the triple jump. Liam Raymon in 5^th palce would be the highest finish of the Raiders in 12.45m. Reese Van Zee in 10^th at 11.94m, and Isaiah Hollinger in 12^th at 11.60m

Raider Top 20 finishes (bold indicates PR):

60m Dash Prelims
- Vance Hayenga-Johnson 7.08 – 6^th
- Simphiwe Mashaba 7.10 – 11^th
- Ashton Sandbulte 7.23 – 17^th
60m Dash Finals
- Vance Hayenga Johnson 7.11 – 7^th
200m Dash
- Vance Haynga-Johnson 23.27 – 7^th
400m Dash
- Gunner Vargas 55.37 – 15^th
- Coltin Vargas 56.93 – 19^th
600m
- Cale Sudbeck 1:30.07 – 6^th
800m
- Payton Van Sickle 2:05.89 – 6^th
- Carson Engbers 2:08.04 – 7^th
- Sam Harrison 2:10.64 – 10^th
- David Bernhagen 2:11.84 – 11^th
1000m
- Joesph Kunert 2:37.97 – 2^nd
- Tommy Tracy 2:43.59 – 6^th
Mile
- Ben VanDeBerg 4:31.10 – 1^st
- Ashton Hughes 4:51.97 – 8^th
3000m
- Jacob Shaffer 10:15.65 – 5^th
5000m
- Brayden Dirks 16:38.28 – 4^th
- Braeden Brough 16:52.47 – 6^th
HJ
- Donovan Elmore 1.77m – 6^th
- Coltin Vargas 1.7m – 6^th
Pole Vault
- Lane Johnson 3.80m – 8^th
Long Jump
- Simphiwe Mashaba 6.76m – 3^rd
- Will Bunn 6.32m – 8^th
- Vance Hayenga-Johnson 5.87m – 16^th
Triple Jump
- Liam Raymon 12.45m – 5^th
- Reese Van Zee 11.94m – 10^th
- Isaiah Hollinger 11.60m – 12^th
4x400m Relay
- Ashley, Kalvelage, Bomaars, Engelmann 3:22.05 – 8^th

Up Next: The NWC Track and Field team will compete at the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships. Day 1 will start on Friday February 16^th, and Day 2 on Saturday the 17^th.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

Aziah Ashley: Sprints; 6' 0"; Sophomore

David Bernhagen: Distance; 5' 7"; Junior

AJ Bomgaars: Hurdles; 6' 5"; Sophomore

Will Bunn: Jumps; 6' 2"; Freshman

Brayden Dirks: Distance; 6' 1"; Sophomore

Donovan Elmore: High Jump; 6' 3"; Sophomore

Trey Engelmann: Mid-Distance; 6' 1"; Junior

Braden Kalvelage: Jumps; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Liam Raymon: Jumps; 6' 0"; Sophomore

Ashton Sandbulte: Sprints; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Aziah Ashley
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: Sprints

David Bernhagen
: 5' 7"; Junior
: Distance

AJ Bomgaars
: 6' 5"; Sophomore
: Hurdles

Will Bunn
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: Jumps

Brayden Dirks
: 6' 1"; Sophomore
: Distance

Donovan Elmore
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: High Jump

Trey Engelmann
: 6' 1"; Junior
: Mid-Distance

Braden Kalvelage
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: Jumps

Liam Raymon
: 6' 0"; Sophomore
: Jumps

Ashton Sandbulte
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: Sprints