Warriors Compete at Prairie Wolf Invite; Atwater Wins at Drake Relays

LINCOLN, Neb. – Midland University delivered a strong showing at the Prairie Wolf Outdoor Invite this weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska, while Robert Atwater posted two national "A" standard marks at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.

At the Prairie Wolf Outdoor Invite, Aiden Mountain and Jameson Painter both ran 11.18 seconds in the 100 meters, placing sixth and seventh, respectively. Painter added a fifth-place finish in the 200 meters with a time of 22.45. In the 400 meters, Raheem Richards ran 50.06 to place fifth, recording the seventh-fastest time in program history. He was followed closely by Noah Sherman in ninth (50.50) and Chris Medlock in tenth (50.56).

In the middle distances, Lucas Hjortkjaer placed third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.16, while Henri Stoeckermann was fourth in 1:54.53. In the 5000 meters, Kenicious Limo earned a first-place finish, crossing the line in 14:57.69, the third-best time in Midland history. Jonathan Mahoney placed fourth in 15:35.70, with Dennis Kandie ninth (16:41.61) and Kelvin Korir tenth (16:42.32).

Evan Shepard led the Warriors in the hurdles, winning the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.69, the third-fastest in school history. He also placed eighth in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.80 seconds.

Midland's relay teams were strong throughout the meet. The 4x100-meter relay team of JJ McQueen, Jameson Painter, Kenya Ford, and Aiden Mountain placed third with a time of 42.35, the fourth-best in school history. The 4x400-meter relay team of Noah Sherman, Raheem Richards, Chris Medlock, and Kenya Ford captured first place with a time of 3:19.71.

In the field events, Jonah Martinez finished fifth in the high jump with a clearance of 1.88 meters. In the triple jump, Khalil Thorps-Watt was second with a mark of 13.94 meters. Garrett Guindon placed fourth (13.38m) and Kenya Ford placed fifth (13.37m). In the javelin, Josiah Meyer earned a third-place finish with a throw of 48.37 meters.

Meanwhile at the Drake Relays, Robert Atwater excelled against top collegiate competition. He placed second in the high jump with a clearance of 2.12 meters, meeting the NAIA "A" qualifying standard. Atwater also won the long jump with a leap of 7.43 meters, securing another "A" standard mark.

Midland will send a group of athletes to the 2025 Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships next week. The conference meet is scheduled for Friday, May 2, and Saturday, May 3, in Hastings, Nebraska.