WAVERLY, Iowa- The Knights No. 5 ranked men's and No. 20 ranked women's track and field teams completed the first day of the NCAA Final Qualifier. Grace Braden shattered her previous program record in the pentathlon and the women's DMR team narrowly missed out on breaking the program record.
 
The women's DMR team (Haley Meyer, Olivia Tollari, Nadia Bowden, and Maddie Merna) and Grace Braden (pentathlon) earned event wins.
 
Grace Braden was victorious and broke her own program record in the pentathlon with 3669 points. Braden previously set the program record on February 6^th (3421 points). Braden stands second on the TFRRS list for this season. Caitlin Benesh finished in third place with 3444 points. Benesh improves to second on the program's top 10 list and stands 19^th on the TFRRS list for this season.
 
Scoring Link
 
FIELD EVENTS
(W) Pentathlon (High Jump): Grace Braden was the top finisher for the Knights and claimed the victory with a 1.62m 5-03.75 mark.
 
(W) Pentathlon (Long Jump): The Knights had two top five finishers. Grace Braden (5.42 17-09.50) placed second, which ranks eighth on the program's top 10 list. Caitlin Benesh (5.24m 17-02.25) placed fifth.
 
(W) Pentathlon (Shot Put): Caitlin Benesh was the top performer for the Knights with a 11.10m 36-05.00 mark to finish in fourth place.  
 
RUNNING EVENTS
(W) Pentathlon (800m): Caitlin Benesh was the top finisher for the Knights. Benesh finished in sixth place with a time of 2:30.68.

(W) Pentathlon (60m Hurdles): Grace Braden won the event with a time of 8.65. Braden improves to third on the program's top 10 list and stands 10^th on the TFRRS list for this season. Caitlin Benesh placed fourth with a time of 9.16.
 
RELAYS
(M) DMR: The Knights were represented by Nathan Kinzer, Alex Kerr, Hutton Edney, and Lance Sobaski. They finished in second place with a time of 9:54.10.

(W) DMR: The Knights were represented by Haley Meyer, Olivia Tollari, Nadia Bowden, and Maddie Merna. They earned a first place finish with a time of 11:37.96, which is a facility record. They rank second on the program's top 10 list and stand fourth on the TFRRS list for this season.
 
2025-26 Wartburg School Records:
Anthony Weaver Jr, 14.71m (48-03.25) – (M) Triple Jump
Haley Meyer, 2:55.24 – (W) 1000m
Lance Sobaski, 4:05.15 – (M) Mile
Isaiah Hammerand, 14:07.41 – (M) 5000m
AJ Wright, 6.78 – (M) 60m
Isaiah Hammerand, 8:10.18 – (M) 3000m
Hutton Edney, 1:51.20 – (M) 800m
Grace Braden, 3669 points - Pentathlon
 
Top 10 Wartburg Pentathlon

1. Grace Braden – 2026, 3669 points
2. Caitlin Benesh – 2026, 3444 points
3. Camesha Goods – 2012, 3393 points
4. Mia Purnell – 2014, 3264 points
5. Marissa Nolan – 2020, 3259 points
6. Courtney Sowle – 2017, 3253 points
7. Brittnay Melloy – 2011, 3188 points
8. Tatiana Silva – 2014, 3182 points
9. Jaclyn Stoakes – 2016, 3019 points
10. Becca Fagerlind – 2009, 3013 points

 
Up Next:
A select group will compete tomorrow for day two of the NCAA Qualifier in Waverly.