ROCK ISLAND, Ill. – The Augustana Vikings men's and women's track and field teams closed out the home portion of the 2026 outdoor season on Wednesday evening with a strong showing at the Augustana Midwest Twilight Final Qualifier at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletic Complex. Competing against nearly 100 programs from across the country, the Vikings looked to send a few more athletes to the 2026 NCAA Championships next weekend.
Tyreke Fortney led the way on the track for the Vikings, qualifying for the finals of the men's 100m before winning the event in 10.48. Darin Pentsil posted personal bests in both sprint events, running 10.90 in the 100m prelims and 22.07 in the 200m.
On the women's side, Bridget Hecker delivered a pair of personal best performances, running 12.63 in the 100m before finishing the 200m in 25.67. Jordyn Van Santen also posted personal bests in both events, clocking 12.69 in the 100m and 26.09 in the 200m. Cora Deemer added season-best performances in both sprint events.
The Vikings once again found success in the hurdle events behind AJ Banks. After qualifying for the finals of the men's 110m hurdles, Banks placed second overall in 14.41. He later added a fourth-place finish in the 400m hurdles in 53.23. Bayley Pierce finished the 400m hurdles in 56.28.
In the throws, Landon Wierenga turned in another dominant performance. The junior won the men's hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 62.93m (206-05) before placing third in the invitational discus at 50.69m (166-03). Magnus Wells added a fifth-place finish in the javelin with a throw of 55.11m (180-09), while also recording a personal best in the collegiate discus at 48.68m (159-08).
Charlotte Frere followed up last week's national record performance with another event victory, winning the invitational discus with a meet-record throw of 55.04m (180-07). She also added a fifth-place finish in the invitational hammer throw at 46.13m (151-04).
In the collegiate discus, Laina Nelson placed third at 42.83m (140-06), while also finishing fifth in the invitational javelin at 39.06m (128-01). Amelia Miller competed in the collegiate javelin, recording a throw of 35.26m (115-08).
The distance crew continued to build momentum heading into the postseason. Ben Milner placed sixth in the men's 800m in 1:56.32, while Tyler Weber added a personal best of 1:57.79. In the men's 5000m collegiate section, Jaden Gocken finished runner-up in 16:10.08, while Liam Storie added a personal best of 16:42.23. Sammy Lehr placed third in the women's collegiate 5000m in 19:55.54, and Frida Martinez followed in fourth in 20:09.95. In the invitational women's 5000m, Ryan Jednachowski and Renee Jednachowski finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Augustana also turned in strong performances in the field events. Leila Sifford placed fourth in the triple jump at 11.44m (37-06.50), while Caden Eller recorded top-10 finishes in both the long jump and triple jump. In the pole vault, Collin Ferry and Tatum Rogers each cleared 4.26m (13-11.75), while Athena Ghiotto cleared 3.48m (11-05.00) in the women's competition.
The Vikings closed the evening with a season-best performance in the women's 4x400 relay, as the quartet of Van Santen, Deemer, Marie Weber, and Luniah Gilford finished eighth in 3:59.44.
Several Vikings will travel to La Crosse, Wis., next week for the 2026 NCAA Outdoor Championships, which will take place from Thursday, May 21 through Saturday, May 23.
