Pair of Warriors Earn Titles at GPAC Championships

FREMONT, Neb. — Midland University was back in action Friday and Saturday as it welcomed the other 10 members of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) to Fremont for the 2026 GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Warriors secured two individual championships and 10 all-conference honors while finishing sixth overall with 61 points.

Lucas Hjortkjaer led the field in the 1,500-meter run, claiming the conference title with a time of 3:54.28.

Koen Steenblok added a championship of his own in the 800-meter run, crossing the finish line in 1:53.54.

In the triple jump, Jonathan Edberg earned his second all-conference honor of the day and recorded a personal-best leap of 13.55 meters to finish third.

Federico Migliano placed fourth in the hammer throw with a mark of 53.30 meters.

Jameson Painter finished fourth in the 100-meter preliminaries with a time of 10.69 seconds before placing sixth in the finals in 10.90 to earn all-conference honors.

The quartet of Christian Olsen, Lucas Hjortkjaer, Braden Taylor, and Koen Steenblok placed fourth in the 4x800-meter relay with a time of 7:45.66.

Competing in the decathlon, Marcos Riano Aransay finished 10th in the long jump with a mark of 5.96 meters and added another 10th-place finish in the javelin throw at 37.34 meters. He also recorded three 11th-place finishes in the shot put (9.70 meters), high jump (1.55 meters), and 400-meter dash (55.51 seconds). Riano Aransay placed eighth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.00, sixth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.40 meters, and seventh in the 1,500-meter run in 4:56.81. He finished 11th overall in the decathlon with 5,136 points.

Josiah Meyer placed seventh in the javelin throw with a mark of 50.23 meters.

Jonathan Edberg and Brenden Walton finished sixth and seventh, respectively, in the high jump after each cleared 1.88 meters to earn all-conference honors.

Ja'Myri Bernard, Jameson Painter, Jason Jeffers, and Aiden Mountain placed sixth in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 42.03.

Raheem Richards and Jameson Painter finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 200-meter dash with times of 21.97 and 21.98. Both earned all-conference honors.

The quartet of Raheem Richards, Noah Sherman, Chris Medlock, and Koen Steenblok placed sixth in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:22.71.

"The athletes had a very well-rounded team performance, scoring in all disciplines," head coach Daniel Gerber said. "I'm really proud of how this group prepared, and it showed with how well they performed on their home track. Three event champions was the cherry on top of a great weekend for the team."

The Warriors will travel to Seward, Nebraska, to compete in the Concordia Twilight on Friday, May 8, before heading to Asheville, North Carolina, for the NAIA Outdoor Championships, which begin May 20. The Concordia Twilight is scheduled to begin at noon.