Leavenworth, Kan.—Catch them if you can, Spire T&F will be on the move this weekend across Kansas and Iowa. A majority of the USM athletes will head to the ESU Relays hosted by the Emporia State University Hornets while the multi-event athletes Dawson Troth, Logan Hammersmith, Justin Johnston, Kylee Sipes, and Makayla Lockard will head to the Red Raider Open hosted by the Northwestern Raiders in Orange City, Iowa.

ESU Relays will kick off tomorrow, Thursday, April 16^th at Welch Stadium and Witten Track at 10:30 a.m. with multis in Orange City slated for a 1:00 p.m. start time beginning with the Men's Decathlon events.

There will be a few Spire athletes still seeking out national standard marks, with current USM national qualifiers and record holders in the hunt for their next best marks and final finishes.

Sophomore Nolan Norberto broke his own school record at the Butler CC Invite last weekend in the men's shot put with a mark of 15.79m in El Dorado. Nolan will look to continue on his success this weekend in Emporia.

Martina Menees, Emma Murphy, and Emily Struckman will proudly represent the Spire women's throwers in the shot put and hammer at ESU. Struckman also broke her own USM school record in the women's hammer throw last weekend at Butler with a mark of 46.18m and excitedly awaits what she can do this weekend.

Junior women's javelin thrower, Keely Barnard, has cemented herself not only in Spire record books but also as one of the top jav throwers in the KCAC. Keely broke her own school record last weekend with a throw of 40.20m, earning her the No. 3 spot in the KCAC in this event—it will surely be another exciting weekend for Barnard.

Freshman standout Tyler Holmes has punched his ticket to the national meet next month. The dual sport athlete not only walked away with a 1^st place finish in El Dorado, but also received an outstanding NAIA "A" Standard for his 7.44m mark, making him #1 in the KCAC and #11 in all of NAIA. An impressive feat for the freshman jumper and USM record holder in the men's long jump. Last weekend at Butler marked the third time Tyler has broken the long jump record this season.

Jordyn Miller-Knuckles will join her crew at the national meet in North Carolina as she continues to add to her speedy finishes in the women's 100m hurdles. She has only herself to beat as she too broke her own record with a final photo finish of 14.17 seconds at Butler. Jordyn and her teammate Hope Crabtree will represent the Spires in the 100m hurdles at Welch Stadium in Emporia tomorrow afternoon.

Deslyne Cooper continues to impress in the women's 400m race. Cooper sealed her fate in heading to the national stage earlier this year at the Friends U. Spring Invitational when she ran a 56.43 in the 400, moving her up to No. 9 in all of NAIA in this gutsy race.

Don't miss a second of the action this weekend for Spire T&F. All meet info can be found on the men's and women's outdoor track schedules, or you can easily find live results here:
 
ESU Relays:
Live Results- Black Squirrel Timing
Meet Info- ESU Relays 2026 (PDF) - University of Saint Mary
 
Red Raider Open:
Watch- Northwestern College
Live Results- Dakota Timing
Meet Program- Red Raider Open Meet Program 2026 (PDF) - University of Saint Mary