Mustang track & field earns seven titles, Sikkema gets award

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Mount Mercy standouts nabbed seven conference titles, including two by Keegan Thompson, and Jerry Sikkema was named women's assistant coach of the year after this weekend's Heart Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the Robert W. Plaster Athletic Complex.

Thompson blazed to event titles in the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash. His time of :20.95 hit the NAIA's automatic qualifying mark in the 200 meters and is the fastest by anyone in the Heart of America this season. Thompson also hit the finish line in :10.52 in the 100 meters, which was an NAIA "B" mark and ranks second in the league this spring. Overall, he is 11th in the NAIA in the 200 and 28th in the 100. Also on the track, Ryan Clancy sits atop the Heart in the 3,000 meter steeplechase after racing to the championship in 9:40.00.

Four titles came in field events, with Caleb Rutherford leading the way with an automatic qualifying mark in the shot put. A throw of 15.95 meters is the best in the Heart and puts him 18th in the nation. Kaden Schilling won the hammer with an NAIA "B" standard of 54.79 meters. Heading into nationals later this month, Schilling is 16th in the NAIA.

Abby Hill and Bre Nail won events for the Mount Mercy women. Hill holds the top spot in the Heart now, tossing the javelin 40.07 meters to win the individual title this weekend. She worked her way into the top 20 nationally, where Hill is currently 18th. Nail, already a national qualifier as well, earned the shot put championship with a 13.48 meter throw.

Since arriving at Mount Mercy in 2016, Sikkema has elevated the Mustang throwers to new heights. This spring, in addition to coaching three Heart of America outdoor champions, he has a total of five throwers ranked in the top 20 in the nation and all five will compete at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 24-26 at Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Ind.

Grand View earned the men's team championship with a score of 164. Benedictine was runner-up at 111, then came Central Methodist (107) followed by Mount Mercy (89) and MidAmerica Nazarene (89).

Central Methodist claimed the women's team title with 179 points. Benedictine was runner-up at 161.5. Mount Mercy finished eighth with a score of 55.

2023 Heart Men's Outdoor Track & Field Awards
Coach of the Year: Miradieu Joseph (Grand View)
Assistant Coach of the Year: Zuva Bvekerwa (William Penn)
Co-Field Athletes of the Meet: Justin Moeller (William Penn), Niles Siefken (Grand View)
Track Athlete of the Meet: Carter Huyser (Grand View)

2023 Heart Women's Outdoor Track & Field Awards
Coach of the Year: Kenny Anderson (Central Methodist)
Assistant Coach of the Year: Jerry Sikkema (Mount Mercy)
Field Athlete of the Meet: Madison Sutton (Benedictine)
Track Athlete of the Meet: Caroline Cobo (Benedictine)