How It Happened

The Prairie Wolves faced challenging conditions throughout the meet, with gusts affecting several events, but still managed to post numerous strong early-season marks. On the men's side, freshman Drake Ferris made an immediate impact by breaking the NWU freshman discus record with his 50.10m throw, which also ranks fifth in program history. In the high jump, Eli Mackowski cleared 2.09m (6'10.25"), a mark that should put him in contention for nationals later this season.

The sprinters battled through the wind, with Morgan Conner running 10.39 in the 100m for second place. The hurdles crew showed depth as Noah Smith (14.28) and Tanner Johnson (14.66) went 3-4 in the 110m hurdles, while Connor Plahn took fifth in the 400m hurdles in 55.85. The 4x100m relay team of Steven Dalmeida, Conner, McClain Meyer and Ghaith Taha finished fifth in 41.56.

For the women, Delaney Vacek nearly captured an event title with her second-place finish in the 800m (2:23.06). The throwers had a particularly strong day, led by Anna Lundahl's personal best 46.98m in the discus that ranks sixth in school history. Kaelyn Means joined her in the record books with a 46.09m throw that sits seventh all-time. Emmilly Berglund, coming off an All-American indoor season, opened with a 13.55m shot put that ranks eighth in program history.

Natalie Cummins had a busy day, finishing 11th in the 100m (12.20) and sixth in the long jump (5.46m). Avery Decker placed fourth in the javelin (40.13m), while Rachel Smith scored in both hurdle events, taking sixth in the 100m hurdles (15.03) and 400m hurdles (1:11.91).

The meet served as an important early-season test for the Prairie Wolves, who will be back at it next weekend with athletes competing at both the Concordia Invite. While no event titles were captured, the performance showed promising depth across multiple event groups as the team builds toward championship season.

Up Next
The Prairie Wolves will compete at the Concordia Invitational next Friday and Saturday in Seward, Nebraska.