SUPERIOR, Wis. - Bethany closed out the 2026 UMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships strong Saturday as several Vikings saw personal records, season bests, and even some individual conference champions.

For the women, who came into Saturday in sixth place, they held their spot ending the meet with 49 points. The first event on the track was also the first event that the women scored in, as the team of Ping, Hopp, Kedsch, and Zellmann placed in fourth with a time of 52.17 seconds in the 4x100-meter relay. Zellmann was the next woman to score on the track, as she took seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.22 seconds, moving up from her preliminary seeded placement of eighth. The final scoring on the track for the women came from the 4x400 meter relay, as the same team of Ping, Kedsch, Hopp, and Zellmann took fifth with a time of 4:29.90.

In the field, Sarah Smith netted the first points of the day for the Vikings, as she set a new personal, school and meet record in the high jump with a height of 1.60 meters, which landed her in first place. Next, Nika Pittenger scored once again for the Vikings as her throw of 32.97 meters in the discus placed her in seventh. At the same time, Samantha Kedsch took second in the women's triple jump with a distance of 10.81 meters.

Overall, the women saw much success at the meet, including several PRs and season bests. Nika Pittenger saw two personal best marks in the throws, as her second place javelin throw of 37.40 meters was not just a personal record, but also a school record, she also saw a new personal best distance in the shot put, where she improved to 9.32 meters.

Samantha Kedsch's UMAC-winning long jump distance of 5.24 meters was also a new outdoor personal best, and her 100-meter time of 13.46 seconds and her 200-meter time of 28.60 seconds were both new personal bests as well.  Sarah Smith saw two personal bests this weekend, as not only did she set the new school record in high jump as mentioned earlier, but she also set a new personal best time in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.56 seconds. Avery Hopp saw a season best long jump distance of 4.58 meters on Friday, and Riley Ping also saw season bests on Friday, as she set new marks in the 100-meter dash with a time of 14.03 and in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.86 seconds.

On the men's side, after 17 points were earned on Friday, the Vikings ended up placing fourth with a final score of 42 points. The men's 4x100-meter relay team joined the women in fourth place, as the team of Halvorson, Kaesermann, Koosman, and Bolanos Talbot ended with a time of 44.71 seconds. Right afterwards, James Younge snagged a point in the 1500-meter run, as his season best time of 4:25.69 landed him in eighth.

Next, after not competing in the event yesterday as only eight men were entered, so they all qualified for finals, Will Kaesermann took fifth place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.29 seconds. Next, Matthew Koosman ran a new personal best time of 52.03 seconds in the 400-meter dash, as he placed seventh.

Then August Weinstein finished the 5000-meter run with a near personal best time of 17:20.29 which allowed him to grab one more point for the Vikings with his eighth place finish. In the final event on the track of the day, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Halvorson, Matzke, Younge, and Koosman took fourth with a time of 3:37.25.

In the field, the Vikings saw a pair of triple jumpers score, as Austin Skaden placed in eighth with a season best distance of 11.99 meters, and Benjamin Halvorson took third place with a new personal best distance of 13.04 meters.

In the meet as a whole, the men saw several personal records and season bests including the following results. Jensen Gerdts saw two personal records fall in the throws, as his javelin throw of 37.86 meters and his discus throw of 22.66 meters both set new personal bests. James Younge also threw a new personal best in javelin, with a distance of 26.19 meters. Younge added on to his tally with two season bests during the weekend as well, including a 2:12.24 in the 800-meter run, and a 4:25.69 in the 1500-meter run. Ben Matzke joined Younge with his mark in the 800-meter run, as he set a new personal best time of 2:00.66. Matthew Koosman saw two PRs on the weekend, including the aforementioned 400-meter dash time, as well as his new personal best time of 58.91 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

A trio of Vikings all saw personal bests in the 200-meter dash, with Bolanos Talbot, Kaesermann, and Halvorson all setting new records in the event. Bolanos Talbot did so in a time of 23.92 seconds, while Kaesermann did so with a time of 23.63 seconds. Halvorson's time of 23.52 seconds rounded out the 200-meter personal bests for the men, which he added to with his new personal best distance in triple jump, as mentioned earlier. Kellett also joined Halvorson as the two Vikings to podium at these championships with his second-place height of 3.90 meters in the pole vault.

Coach Dominic Santina had this to say following the championship meet, "I am really proud of how everyone pushed through with the long season! A lot of great things were accomplished this season and a great building year for each athlete and our team in general."

With the conclusion of this meet, the end of the season comes for many of the Vikings. However, some members of the team will continue on to one more meet at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. on May 13-14 at the Augustana Midwest Twilight Qualifier.