WAVERLY, Iowa — Nebraska Wesleyan's track and field teams closed out the 2025 American Rivers Conference Indoor Championships with strong performances on Saturday, highlighted by Eli Mackowski's conference title in the men's high jump and Noah Smith's conference title in the 60 meter hurdles. Both the men's and women's teams finished fourth overall, with the men scoring 83 points and the women tallying 59.5 points in a competitive field of nine teams.

How It Happened – Track Events

The Prairie Wolves made noise early in the day, with Noah Smith capturing the men's 60-meter hurdles title in a lifetime best of 8.07 seconds, moving him to second all-time in school history. Smith's performance set the tone for a day filled with standout efforts.

On the women's side, Natalie Cummins continued her stellar season, finishing as the conference runner-up in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.80 seconds, moving her up to fourth in NWU's all-time rankings. Raegan Levi and Cummins also went 7-8 in the women's 200-meter dash, showcasing the team's depth in the sprints.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Morgan Conner, McClain Meyer, Connor Plahn, and Jackson Feauto delivered a thrilling performance, finishing third overall with a time of 3:21.87 to earn All-Conference honors. Meyer also had a strong individual showing, placing fourth in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 50.08 seconds.

In the distance events, Conner Ross doubled back from Friday's 5,000-meter run to finish fourth in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:36.48, moving him to sixth on NWU's all-time list after conversion. The men's 4x800-meter relay team of Lucas Steuter, Trevor Larson, Alex Ienn, and Coleman Keck narrowly missed All-Conference honors, finishing fourth in 7:57.62.

For the women, the 4x400-meter relay team of Raegan Levi, Chloe Mooberry, Jadah Laughlin, and Rachel Smith finished sixth with a time of 4:07.29, while the 4x800-meter relay team of Delaney Vacek, Kari Mathsen, Grace Pyle, and Dani Ahrens also placed sixth in 10:15.84.

How It Happened – Field Events

The highlight of the day came in the men's high jump, where Eli Mackowski cleared 2.01 meters (6'7") to claim the conference title. Teammate James Bruner added a sixth-place finish with a jump of 1.91 meters (6'3.25"), giving NWU a strong presence in the event.

In the throws, Colin Wojtkiewicz and Eric Lenz went 4-5 in the men's weight throw, with Wojtkiewicz posting a mark of 17.60 meters (57'9") and Lenz close behind at 17.45 meters (57'3"). On the women's side, Kaelyn Means and Tiernan Stanton finished fifth and eighth, respectively, in the weight throw.

Tanner Johnson broke his own school record in the heptathlon, scoring 4,684 points to finish fourth overall. Johnson's performance included a lifetime best of 8.36 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, which earned him 893 points and solidified his place as one of the top multi-event athletes in program history.

Up Next

Select members of the Nebraska Wesleyan track and field teams will compete at a last-chance meet next week as they aim to qualify for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, set for March 14-15 in Rochester, New York.