Lincoln, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan track and field kicked off the 2024 indoor season with an impressive showing across two competitions on Friday. The Prairie Wolves competed in the Holiday Classic, hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex, and the UNK Pre-Holiday Classic, where field event athletes represented NWU in Kearney.
Husker Holiday Open Highlights
The NWU men's and women's teams showed early-season promise in a competitive field.
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, junior Noah Smith secured a third-place finish with a personal-best time of 8.10. Freshman Jacob Young clocked 8.42 to place seventh, while sophomore Kevin Sohl finished 11th at 8.99. On the women's side, senior Keeley Hourigan raced to fifth place, setting a personal record of 9.10, and freshman Jadah Laughlin placed 10th in 9.66.
The 200-meter dash saw sophomore Vaughn Bausch (23.29) and junior Dallen Booker (23.39) finish 11th and 12th, respectively, for the men, while freshman Jersey Koza led the women's effort with an 18th-place finish (27.98).
Freshman Gabriel Price highlighted the men's 300-meter dash with a podium finish, placing third in 38.00. For the women, Laughlin impressed again, finishing ninth in 44.90.
In the 800 meters, freshman Jackson Feauto placed fifth with a strong opening mark of 1:55.95. Sophomore Lucas Steuter (1:58.19) and sophomore Jacob Wertz (2:02.27) added top-10 finishes.
Junior Delaney Vacek and junior Avary Byers delivered personal-best performances in the women's mile, finishing seventh (5:37.06) and eighth (5:44.57), respectively.
The Prairie Wolves also excelled in the 4x400-meter relay. The men's 'A' relay team of Morgan Conner, McClain Meyer, Feauto, and Austin Nauert earned fourth place with a time of 3:19.93, while the women's 'A' team of Natalie Cummins, Hourigan, Raegan Levi, and Chloe Mooberry finished third in 4:04.04.
UNK Pre-Holiday Classic Highlights:
Field athletes made their presence felt in Kearney. The men's high jump saw senior Benjamin Cumpston clear 1.89m (6-2.25) to claim second place.
Freshman thrower Sam Clements opened his season with a first-place finish in the men's shot put, recording a mark of 15.61m (51-2.75). Eric Lenz was right behind him with a toss of 15.19m (49-10). Sophomore Emmilly Berglund placed second in the women's shot put with a toss of 12.86m (42-2.25). Freshman Ava Larmon was right behind in her collegiate debut with a throw of 11.74m (38-6.25).
Senior Pole Vaulter, Emily Druse improved on her indoor personal best from last season. She vaulted 3.42m (11-2.50) to take bronze.
Up Next
The Prairie Wolves will return to competition in January at the Graduate Classic, hosted in Lincoln, or the Polar Dog Invite hosted by Concordia. Events are set to begin Friday, Jan. 19.
