Hardy Claims GPAC Title as Warriors Host GPAC Championships

FREMONT, Neb. — Midland University returned to action Friday and Saturday, welcoming 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 one individual championship and eight all-conference honors while finishing seventh overall with 40 points.

Krista Hardy led the field in the high jump, claiming the GPAC title with a mark of 1.62 meters.

Competing in the 4x100-meter relay, Caelianna Risler, Tanja Zubrod, Aurora Griffin, and Amber van Beugen not only broke their own Midland program record, but also qualified for the NAIA Outdoor Championships with a B-standard time of 47.16 seconds while placing fourth overall.

In the long jump, Vanessa Rice placed third with a leap of 5.31 meters, while Josie Reiff finished 10th with a mark of 5.01 meters.

In the heptathlon shot put, Shyanne Pipkin placed third with a throw of 10.26 meters. She also finished ninth in the 100-meter hurdles (16.50), sixth in the high jump (1.46 meters), and fifth in the javelin throw (28.83 meters). Pipkin concluded the heptathlon in 12th place with 3,460 total points.

Sara Diew earned eighth place in the hammer throw with a mark of 49.11 meters. She also placed fourth in the discus with a throw of 42.40 meters. Both performances earned all-conference honors, bringing her career total to three as a Warrior.

In the 100-meter preliminaries, Tanja Zubrod finished sixth in 12.10 seconds before matching that placement in the finals with a time of 12.13 seconds to earn her second all-conference honor as a Warrior. She also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash in 24.59 seconds.

Maite Farin earned all-conference honors with a seventh-place finish and personal-best time of 39:28.84 in the 10,000-meter run. She also competed in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, placing seventh in 12:11.48.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Tanja Zubrod, Aurora Griffin, Meike Lahuis, and Amber van Beugen placed eighth with a time of 4:08.67.

"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, for 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.