The Northwestern track and field team took the vans to Sioux Center on Saturday to compete in the Dordt Invitational.
Of the athletes who competed, eight Raider entrants qualified for the national indoor track and field championships at the event. Among the qualifiers were senior Taylor Bodin, sophomore Kyle Anderson and senior Matt Huseman, who all met the automatic mark in their individual events.
Bodin, who had already met the provisional standard this year, placed first in the 800 meters with a time of 1:55.
Anderson placed first in the 1,000 meters and broke the school-record time. He ran a 2:30 and had met the provisional mark the week before.
Junior Logan Hovland ran in the 1,000 meters as well and finished in second place behind Anderson in 2:32. That time also met to the provisional mark.
Huseman cleared 6 feet, 8.75 inches in the high jump, which was yet another national qualifying jump. He has won all five of the meets this season.
“It was an intense and exciting meet to watch,” Bodin said.
Bodin also said he thought there were approximately 70 season-best marks and more than 30 personal records.
In addition, four other Red Raider entries also met the provisional mark for nationals.
Sophomore Abigail Stevens, senior Kyle Heidebrink, senior Jeriah Dunk and the women’s 4-by-400 meter relay team all are one step closer to qualifying for nationals.
The women’s 4-by-400 meter relay ran a 4:03 and placed second in the event. Junior Megan Walhof, sophomore Emily Culver, senior Jackie Niewenhuis and sophomore Lauren Spranger comprised the team.
Stevens finished with a personal best time of 8.7 seconds and won the 55-meter hurdles. Heidebrink met the provisional mark in the 55-meter hurdles and placed second with a time of 7.8 seconds. Dunk placed first in the 55-meter dash. He ran the sprint in 6.45 seconds, which was not only a personal best but also a school record.
“The team overall,did really well, and we peaked at this last event,” Dunk said.
In addition to all the national qualifiers, senior Dawn Gildersleeve won the 1,000-meter with a time of 3:04, and sophomore Lawton De Jong placed second in the shot put. He launched the shot 46 feet, 9 inches.
The Raiders turned in a total of 25 top-five finishes in their last event before the conference meet.
The athletes who qualified for the GPAC indoor championship will compete in that championship in Crete, Neb., today and Saturday. National qualifiers will be determined following the meet.