WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin men's track & field team delivered its strongest performance in nearly a decade, soaring to a third-place finish at the 2026 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Outdoor Championships.
The Falcons totaled 100 points, marking their highest finish since also placing third in 2017 and their most points scored at the outdoor championships since 2022.
Leading the charge was junior Zach Wendland, who earned NACC Track Athlete of the Meet honors after an outstanding all-around performance. Wendland competed in four events — the 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, and the 4x400-meter relay — and made his presence felt in each.
He highlighted his weekend with a conference title in the 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 54.08. Junior Josh Sipes (Charleston, Ill.) added depth in the event with an eighth-place finish (1:02.19).
The Falcons closed the meet in dramatic fashion, capturing the 4x400-meter relay title. The quartet of senior Nicholas Maksymiu (Deerfield, Wis.), freshman Kaden Sanfelipo (Glendale, Wis.), Wendland, and sophomore Lucas Mathes (Brillion, Wis.) edged out Concordia Chicago with a winning time of 3:23.10 — just 0.04 seconds ahead of the Cougars and 0.64 seconds clear of Aurora.
Wendland also earned a silver medal in the high jump (1.91 meters), placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.27), and took fifth in the 400-meter dash (49.67) to cap an exceptional meet.
Junior Kyle Steiner sprinted to a pair of runner-up finishes, claiming silver in both the 100-meter dash (10.71) and 200-meter dash (21.57).
Junior Isaiah Lubner (Campbellsport, Wis.) also shined on the track, finishing second in the 800-meter run (1:53.94) and adding a bronze medal in the 1500-meter run (3:56.39).
The Falcons showed strong depth in the 1500-meter run, with freshman Liam Wielert (Crown Point, Ind.) placing 14th (4:19.45), freshman Gabriel Baker (Stockton, Calif.) in 17th (4:24.92), and freshman Jackson Huebner (Watertown, Wis.) in 26th (4:35.18).
In the hurdles, senior Brandon Donough (Hubertus, Wis.) finished sixth (15.82) and senior Bernie Van Den Heuvel (Valders, Wis.) took eighth (16.14), joining Wendland in scoring for Concordia.
In the field events, senior John Kutner (Mukwonago, Wis.) led the Falcons in the hammer throw with a sixth-place mark of 46.18 meters, while sophomore Dayne Baker (Watertown, Wis.) placed eighth (44.89 meters). Sophomore Dawson Kolka (Sanford, Mich.) finished 10th (43.24 meters), and sophomore Clayton Nichols (Okauchee, Wis.) was 19th (32.75 meters).
Baker also added a seventh-place finish in the shot put (13.33 meters), followed by sophomore Hayden Kettmann (Beecher, Ill.) in ninth (12.38 meters), Kutner in 12th (11.71 meters), Nichols in 15th (11.12 meters), and Kolka in 19th (10.24 meters).
In the long jump, Mathes placed seventh (6.26 meters), with Corban Jackson finishing 10th (5.98 meters), freshman Josh Kribs (Green Bay, Wis.) in 14th (5.86 meters), and freshman Dylan Herrera-Beltran (Belgium, Wis.) in 18th (5.54 meters).
Freshman William Hemling (Beaver Dam, Wis.) recorded an eighth-place finish in the decathlon with 4,367 points.
The 4x100-meter relay team of sophomore Victor Watson Jr. (Cypress, Texas), freshman Aaron Mudge (St. Louis, Mo.), freshman Alex Spartz, and Kribs placed eighth (45.33).
In distance events, junior Mason Everts (Saukville, Wis.) led the Falcons in the 5000-meter run with a 15th-place finish (16:23.23), followed by sophomore Eric Krause (Jackson, Wis.) in 20th (18:06.93).
Milwaukee School of Engineering claimed the team title with 224 points.
Saturday marked the conclusion of team competition, as Falcons individuals now turn their attention toward qualifying for the NCAA Championships.
