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Warriors Place Third at GPAC Meet, Atwater Named Outstanding Athlete
Posted: May 03, 2025

Warriors Place Third at GPAC Meet, Atwater Named Outstanding Athlete

Event Schedule Results

HASTINGS, Neb. – Midland University's men's track and field team turned in a strong performance at the 2025 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Outdoor Championships this weekend, finishing third overall in the team standings. Leading the way was senior standout Robert Atwater, who captured three individual titles and added a runner-up finish to earn GPAC Outstanding Athlete of the Meet honors with a meet-best 38 points.

Atwater's dominant weekend included victories in the long jump (7.52m), triple jump (15.04m), and high jump (2.16m), all of which met NAIA "A" qualifying standards. He also placed second in the pole vault with a clearance of 4.80 meters, hitting the NAIA "B" standard. His winning mark in the long jump is the best in the NAIA this season.

Also earning a pair of titles for the Warriors was Kenicious Limo, who broke GPAC records in both the 5,000 meters (14:45.77) and 10,000 meters (30:47.24), the latter hitting the NAIA "B" standard. Lucas Hjortkjaer earned runner-up honors in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:54.44, while teammate Henri Stoeckermann placed fourth in 3:55.60 and added a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters at 1:55.58. Jonathan Mahoney was tenth in the 1,500 meters (4:02.68) and ninth in the 5,000 meters (15:58.45).

In the sprints, Raheem Richards placed fifth in the 200 meters (22.03) and seventh in the 400 meters (49.13), with Jameson Painter just behind in the 200 meters at sixth (22.05). Painter also contributed to Midland's second-place 4x400-meter relay team, joining Noah Sherman, Chris Medlock, and Kenya Ford to run 3:16.37, earning the NAIA "B" standard. The 4x800-meter relay team of Braden Taylor, Hjortkjaer, Stoeckermann, and Koen Steenbok placed third in 7:45.30.

Midland earned additional points in the hurdles and distance events, as Evan Shepard took fifth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.03) and ninth in the 400-meter hurdles (56.65), while Kelvin Korir finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:20.68).

In the jumps, Kenya Ford placed eighth in the long jump (6.84m) and tenth in the triple jump (13.68m), while Garrett Guindeon took fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.33m. Jonah Martinez added a sixth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.91 meters.

In the throws, Josiah Meyer placed ninth in the javelin with a toss of 46.77 meters.

Midland will look to add athletes to its travel party for the NAIA National Championship at the Concordia Twilight next week. Currently, 14 Warriors will be making the trip to Indiana for nationals at the end of the month.

NAIA National Championships Qualifiers

  • Robert Atwater – High Jump, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump
  • Kenya Ford – 4x400m Relay
  • Krista Hardy – High Jump
  • Maggie Heesch – Hammer
  • Lucas Hjortkjaer – 4x800m Relay
  • Kenicious Limo – 10,000m
  • Chris Medlock – 4x400m Relay
  • Kerrigan Myers – 100m Hurdles, High Jump, Heptathlon
  • Hannah Newton – High Jump
  • Raheem Richards – 4x400m Relay
  • Koen Steenblok – 4x800m Relay
  • Henri Stoeckermann – 4x800m Relay
  • Braden Taylor – 4x800m Relay
  • Noah Sherman – 4x400m Relay