FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Grace's track and field team kicked off 2025 at the Mastodon Invitational hosted by Purdue University Fort Wayne.

The Lancers had a number of athletes reach the podium on the day, including a pair of first place finishes.

"The first competition of the indoor season is meant to remind the body what it feels like to push itself at high intensity, and to shake off the rust from a long period away from competition. We did exactly that today," said coach Brian Dewey.

Noah Zimmerman cleared 6.82m two different times on his way to locking up the top spot in the long jump competition. Kylie Sauder took first place in a stride-for-stride battle in the 800m race, winning by 0.06s with a time of 2:19.42.

Mick Wright crossed the line at 23.19 in the 200m, claiming second place. He also finished sixth in the 60m dash.

The Lancers collected three top-five spots in the women's high jump. Emily McCreary cleared 1.58m for a second place finish. Makayla Neal and Sophie Rupp each notched a 1.53m mark to place third and fifth, respectively.

In the women's 400m race, Grace's group of four runners finished 3rd-6th in the event with Olivia Adkins leading the way with a 1:03.14 time. Kaitlyn Strietelmeier, Lillian Richmond, and Elyse Genzink were right behind.

The women's 4x400m relay squad of Cadence Manning, Kylie Sauder, Olivia Adkins, Morgan Welch crossed the line in 4:16.39 to lock up a third place standing. The men's group of Kyle Robinson, Carter Clear, Ty McPhatter, Luke Schramm finished seventh with a 3:35.85 time.

The mile race on the men's side had the most Grace runners competing with 16 in the race. Cole Johnston led the way with a time of 4:27.04, and Brandon Kleber was a second behind with a 4:28.08 to represent the Lancers in the top-10.

Connor Etchison finished top-10 in the shot put (11.92m) and the weight throw (12.33m).

Jackson Winey and Matthew Helton finished within a second of each other in the 400m race with times of 53.12 and 54.67.

Others with top-10 finishes include Zoe Huley (200m), Lanae Crowe (weight throw), Madelyn Yoder (60m Hurdles), Emma Conrad (60m hurdles), Makayla Neal (60m hurdles), Cadence Manning (800m) and Morgan Welch (800m).

"As to be expected, the first meet of the season had a little bit of everything in it," added Dewey. "We had a few PRs, some solid racing, and a few who were disappointed with their results. But all of those things we keep in perspective as we are grateful for the gift and ability to do something we love. There are more meets ahead and the Lancers cannot wait to build on today's performances!"

To see complete meet results, click here.

The Lancers will head to the Bill Clinger Classic, hosted by Grand Valley State on January 24th.