Samantha Wilbur – Staff Writer 

The Dordt University Defenders men’s and women’s track and field teams have broken a total of five school records over the course of the outdoor season.  

Senior Payton Mauldin was the first one to break records this outdoor season. In the first meet of the outdoor season, hosted by Wayne State College, Mauldin continued to set records in the 400m dash. With a blazing time of 46.49, Mauldin broke the record previously held by Nic Pfeifle (2012) by half a second.  

Following him was junior Jenna Gleason, also at the Wayne State meet. This Defender set the school record for the hammer throw and qualified for Nationals after her first attempt with a toss of 48.11m. She saved her energy and gave it her all on her last throw and finished with a 49.58m. This throw solidified her school record break by six feet, which was previously held by Jenna Bremer in 2019. Gleason wasn’t done breaking her own records, though. At the Sioux City meet, she broke her own record with a throw of 51.75m. She is currently sitting at third in the GPAC and twelfth in the NAIA.  

Junior Ryan Schober broke the 100m school record at the USD Early Bird. He surpassed the record that was previously held by Logan Franken, with a time of 10.62, by just .16 of a second.  

“I always hoped someday I could break the record, but I did not think it was possible. It was kind of bittersweet for me to break the record,” Schober said. “Logan Franken, the previous record holder, and I have been running with each other for the past three years now, and he is one of my good friends. Iron sharpens iron, and we both have excelled with each other over the last three years, so I felt kind of bad breaking his record. But I know that if there is good weather and he runs a good race, he has a great chance of taking back the record.” 

Schober is currently sitting at third place in the GPAC.  

On the same day, sophomore Micah Schaap broke the record in long jump, with a leap of 23’ 4”. He surpassed his old record that he set with a 22’ 8” leap last year.  

“Being a school record holder is such a motivational achievement. Not only is it a lasting mark of your accomplishments, but it also creates a standard for yourself that you can work towards in hope of breaking it over and over,” Schaap said. “Setting a record doesn’t mean you rest easy; it gives you the drive to work harder and aim higher.” 

Despite his current record-holding status, Schaap doesn’t plan on letting up.  

“For me personally, having this record makes me want to keep it for as long as possible, and the best way to do that is to put in the work to keep improving and make it as difficult to break as possible,” he said. 

For the women’s team, freshman Makenna Walhof has joined the trend of breaking records. She set the record for discuss, which has been an upstanding record since 1988. Walhof broke the record at the Mount Marty invite, with a record of 141’ 05”, by a little over an inch from Robin Pals previous record. Walhof is ranked 28^th place in the NAIA. 

The men’s 4×400 team continued in their success they had in the indoor season. They ran in the Drake Relays, a three-day high-status meet. Mauldin, sophomore Levi Schelhaas, senior Devin Bos, and senior Cole Zevenbergen ran three seconds faster in the finals than they did in the prelims. The team won and set a school record of 3:09.43. This secured the first-place spot in the NAIA, as well as the eleventh fastest time in all of NAIA history.  

“It takes a lot of practice and a lot of failure to be able to have moments like these. It feels good to have a record but much better knowing I got it with the teammates I’ve been working hard with throughout my seasons at Dordt,” Schelhaas said. “We are all brothers in Christ, so we praise God in our wins, and we praise God in our losses. We aren’t going to be handed any trophies just for being at Nationals, so we must give everything because every millisecond matters.”  

These athletes have high hopes for Nationals. The GPAC Championships happen on May 3-4 in Orange City, and the NAIA National Championship will occur on May 22-24 in Marion, Indiana.