YANKTON, S.D. – Midland University capped off their 2020-21 indoor track and field season at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend. The Warriors took on a field of the best athletes in the nation inside the Ruth Donohoe First Dakota Fieldhouse in Yankton, South Dakota. At the end of the meet, Midland proved that it is home a pair of athletes who are the best of the best a Shandon Reitzell and Dylan Kucera won individual titles.
The meet began on Wednesday with the Warrior women taking to the track and field. Midland had three runners in a field for the women’s mile. Vivian Sanchez, Myia Johnson, and Madilynn Edwards competed in the prelims to wrap up the mid-day session.
The veteran of the group, Sanchez, led the pack of Warriors with a time of 5:37.97 while Johnson and Edwards were close behind with times of 5:41.44 and 5:43.44. The trio missed the finals cut, finishing 12th, 13th, and 14th but gained valuable experience with a pair of freshmen competing on the highest stage.
In the afternoon session on day one, Sanchez took to the track again with the running of the 800m prelims. Once again she finished in 12th place, just missing out on finals, with a time of 2:23.64. It was one of her best times ever in the event.
Wednesday’s late session also saw Kylee Edmonds compete in the women’s pole vault for the second straight year. With a new personal-best of 3.68m (12’ 0.75”), she placed 8th in the event. That also earned her an All-America honor, the first by a Midland woman since Mariah Toussaint in 2012.
On Thursday the meet switched over the men’s side as athletes from 117 different schools began competition. The Warriors had just one competitor on the day with Jose Gonzalez running the 1000m prelims in the afternoon session.
In the race that consists of five laps around the 200m track, Gonzalez never got into a rhythm. He was in good position through the first 400 and then got out of sorts, fell back in the field, and wasn’t able to fully recover. He placed 7th in his heat, 13th overall, and failed to make finals.
Friday saw a rest and prep day for the Warriors without any competitors on the final day of the women’s meet. The full day of last-minute preparation set the stage for a big Saturday with three events on the schedule.
Saturday morning began with both Shandon Reitzell and Dylan Kucera competing in their respective field events.
While Reitzell may have entered the men’s high jump with the second-best height in the field of 18, he proved he was on a level above the rest of the field by the end of the event. After cleanly clearing the first five heights, he bested two other jumpers with a third-attempt clearing of 2.13m (6’ 11.75”). The win gave Midland their second All-American of the meet and first champion.
Almost simultaneous to Reitzell’s rise in the high jump, Kucera took control of the men’s shot put on the other end of the infield.
Competing in the second flight, Kucera had to wait a bit before beginning his title defense from a year ago. Seeded as the top thrower, he opened with a heave of 17.26m to take the early lead. His second throw reached 18.27m (59’ 11.25”) giving him a lead he wouldn’t surrender the rest of the event. A successful title defense was in the bag, so to speak, as the next closest throw over the final four rounds was two feet shorter.
The two wins propelled Midland to the top of the team standings after 6 of 20 events were finished and scored. With only one more competition though it would be nearly impossible to maintain.
Kucera did his best to keep Midland ranked high in the team standings as he took to the throwing circle once more in the men’s weight throw.
Ranked first coming into the event with the best distance so far in the season, he knew he had to bring his best to earn a second title.
After an opening-round throw of 18.91m, he was sitting in second place. Despite a heave of nearly a meter better, 19.86m (65’ 2”) a different opponent jumped him with a throw over 20m. Try as he may, Kucera couldn’t put up a better toss as he placed second to a fellow GPAC thrower in Matthew Campbell (Doane).
The second-place finish earned Kucera a second All-America honor in the meet and helped Midland remain in the top ten, finishing 7th overall in the team standings at the end of the day.
“The last year has been exceptionally challenging, but our athletes have lived up to each challenge,” said Joel Leindecker, jumps coach. “They are very deserving of their accomplishments. I couldn’t be more proud of where we are as a program.”
“Dylan and the rest of the team competed at their best without parents and fans cheering them on,” commented Matt Maltby, throws coach. “They were diligent in their preparation and I could not be more proud. This was the most trying year of competition in my 18 years and they came away with marks at their personal record.”
“It is a pleasure to work with these young men and women,” said head coach Daniel Gerber. “This group keeps getting better and better each year. We worked very hard to ensure our athletes had ample opportunity this indoor season and were able to do it as safely as possible. The team was very diligent in their efforts, and it paid off.”
Midland will now transition to the outdoor season with meets being finalized in the next week or so. Last year the Warriors saw their season end abruptly after the completion of the indoor championships.
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