Catching up with former area athletes: Schroeder grabs indoor All-American honors for Defenders
Mar. 24—SIOUX CENTER, Iowa. — Dordt University's men's track and field team earned national runner-up team honors and graduate student Thaniel Schroeder earned All-America status at the NAIA Indoor National Championships held at the Sanford-Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings.
As a team, the Defenders totaled 41 points and finished second overall among the 117 teams represented at the championship, edging out Marian (Ind.) by half-point. This was the second runner-up finish by Dordt (2021) and its third time on the podium (top-three finish) at the indoor championship. Cumberlands (Ky.) won the men's team title (80 points) while William Carey (Miss.) and Texas Wesleyan rounded out the top five teams.
Schroeder, a former Freeman Academy standout, earned All-American honors by placing eighth in the mile. Schroeder, who did not start competing this indoor season until late January due to an injury, recorded a personal-best time of 4:11.81, nearly four seconds faster than his previous best and a time that ranks second all-time at Dordt.
This is the second All-American honor for Schroeder and first at the indoor championship after a steeplechase All-America finish in 2023 at the national outdoor meet.
ABERDEEN — Northern State University wrestler Wyatt Turnquist finished the season earning all-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honors on the mat.
Turnquist closed out his junior campaign ranked No. 8 in the country, sitting in the top-10 all season. He tallied a 28-6 record and went 7-1 in league action but missed out on qualifying for the NCAA tournament after an upset at the Super Region tournament.
The Winner native won the 44th Annual Midwest Classic with a 15-7 major decision win over then-No. 7 Jacob Ealy of Pitt-Johnstown. Turnquist was also the national preseason No. 1-ranked wrestler and into January at 149 pounds.
In addition, he ranked in the top-10 nationally for technical falls this season with eight in a total time of 28 minutes and 7 seconds. Turnquist is now a three-time all-NSIC first team selection.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa — Mitchell native Caitlin Ostbye was a member of Northwestern College's 4x400-meter relay which earned an all-Great Plains Athletic Conference finish and scored a personal best at the NAIA national indoor meet.
At the GPAC meet on Feb. 17, Ostbye and her teammates scored a second-place finish in a time of 4:01.04. At the NAIA meet on March 2, the foursome of Emma Blum, Savonne Sterk, Ostbye and Kennedy Kramer ran a season-best time of 3:53.43, nearly 2 seconds ahead of their seed time to finish 11th.
A senior exercise science major, it was Ostbye's second career appearance at the NAIA indoor national meet.
