The first three meets of the 2026 indoor track and field season are in the books, and the Raiders are off to a strong start, having captured a total of 20 individual event victories between both the men and women’s team so far. Several school records have already been broken, and many athletes have achieved personal bests in at least one of their events.
Head Coach Scott Bahrke has been pleased at the way the Raiders competed in the opening meets.
“We are seeing a lot of personal records and have hit some qualifying standards in several events,” Coach Scott Bahrke said. “We were hopeful as a coaching staff to post some good marks during the regular season to qualify for conference and nationals. I believe that our athletes are working hard to accomplish the goals they set for themselves in December to accomplish by the end of indoor.”
Some of the top performers for the Raiders this season have been freshmen and transfers. Kenzie Harder, a freshman from Storm Lake, has made an immediate impact and has claimed new school records in the women’s indoor 200m, 60m, and long jump.
“Coming into the first meet, I was pretty nervous and did not set my expectations too high because I knew I was only a freshman,” Harder said. “After the first couple meets, I have been very proud of how I have performed, but I can only give all the glory to God!”
Another newcomer to Raider track and field is Kayden Spencer, a junior who transferred at the start of the school year. Coming off a strong cross country season, Spencer has continued to find success onthe track. She won the 5000m at the Mount Marty Invite by nearly 40 seconds.
“So far, I am feeling good about the season,” Spencer said. “My races have been going well, and I am excited to continue to improve my times.”
On the men’s side, Braden Kalvelage has continued to take down his own school records, most recently the indoor 200m. In that event, he is currently 10th in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) rankings and sits 3rd in the long jump.
“My expectations coming into this season were mainly for me to go all out since this is my last go around,” Kalvelage said. “I am not too worried about the distances or the times. I mainly want to be able to look back at the season and my time at Northwestern when I am no longer able to compete and say I gave it everything.”
The Raiders will compete next at the Dennis Young Indoor Classic at Buena Vista University on January 24.
