The Wartburg College track and field teams pieced together a strong weekend across two meets, highlighted by a nationally-ranked performance at the Drake Relays and a collection of top finishes at the Kip Janvrin Open.
 
DRAKE RELAYS
Competing on one of the premier stages in collegiate track & field, the Knights were led by Jojo Tyynismaa in the women's 400-meter hurdles. The junior turned in a personal-best time of 59.77 to place eighth in a 21-athlete field. Her mark currently ranks fourth in NCAA Division III this season.

In relay action, Wartburg narrowly missed finals appearances in the 4x100-meter relays. The women's quartet of Aly Stahle, Tyynismaa, Olivia Tollari, and Adalyn Sporleder clocked a time of 48.10 to finish 13th in a 28-team field. On the men's side, AJ Wright, Jordan Cleaves, Noah Schmidgall, and Ben Frazier placed ninth with a time of 41.38, missing the finals cut by just 0.06 seconds. The mark stands as the 10th-fastest in program history and ranks among the top times in Division III this season.

The men's 4x1600-meter relay group of Aidan Decker, Solomon Zaugg, Clay Warson, and Nathan Kinzer placed seventh against a field of Division I competition, finishing in 17:07.44 - just shy of the school record set earlier this season.

Wartburg added solid depth in the 4x400 relays, as the women's team of Tollari, Natalie Bork, Leah Cherry, and Haley Meyer placed 13th (3:50.21), while the men's group of Cade Olson, Ben Roussell, Hutton Edney, and Alex Kerr finished 12th in 3:14.10.
 
KIP JANVRIN OPEN
Wartburg continued its momentum at the Kip Janvrin Open with strong performances across both field and running events.

In the field, the Knights saw a standout day from their freshmen in the women's discus, as Lydia Kriegel (12th), Kinsly Laudolff (16th), Olivia Rowedder (17th), and Emma Kuhlmann (20th) all placed inside the top 20. Kuhlmann also recorded a Division III top-100 mark in the shot put with a throw of 12.27 meters.

Samantha Nielsen led the way in the high jump with a runner-up finish (1.55m) and later added a sixth-place showing in the triple jump (10.11m). Alyssa Fowler also placed in the top 10 in the triple jump (9th, 9.68m).

On the track, Logan Ross delivered one of the top performances of the meet, placing fourth in the men's 800 meters with a season-best time of 1:52.26, a mark that ranks among the top 35 in Division III this season.

The men's distance crew dominated the 5,000 meters, placing four runners inside the top eight. Ander Julian (3rd, 14:28.90) led the charge, followed closely by Ahmed Aldamak (4th, 14:31.92), Eli Larson (6th, 14:35.14), and Solomon Zaugg (8th, 14:42.79).

Additional top finishes included Ethan Boston in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9th, 9:25.91) and a third-place finish in the men's 4x400-meter relay (3:24.05).

On the women's side, the 4x400 relay team of Bella Skay, Taylor Burns, Amelia Wright, and Lillian Olson placed second with a time of 4:05.73, finishing ahead of Creighton and just behind Simpson.
 
UP NEXT
Wartburg will carry its momentum into day three of the Drake Relays, as well as wrap up the hammer throw and javelin at the Kip Janvrin Open tomorrow, April 25.