Wittrock wins 1500 at NAIA Outdoor Championships

The NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships were held at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Alabama May 25-27. Former Pekin graduate, Isaiah Wittrock competed for Grand View University, along with his teammates.

Wittrock showed he's more than a half-miler, claiming a national title in the 1,500-meter final on Friday. Wittrock, who is from Richland, held off Montreat sophomore Dylan Branch by .26 of a second to win his first national title in 3:51.57. Wittrock had qualified for the final with only the ninth-best time in the first round, a 3:56.89. Only twelve runners made it to the finals.

Wittrock’s time of 3:51.57 broke the Grand View record, as well earning him All-American status. This is Wittrock’s ninth All- American honor in his running career with Grand View. This is also the first individual national running title for a Viking.

Wittrock's title came less than three hours after he anchored the Vikings to a runner-up finish in the 4x800 final in a school-record 7:30.67. The Grand View quartet of senior Talon Munger, senior Ben Huftalin, junior Carter Huyser and senior Wittrock were 1.23 seconds behind champion Indiana Wesleyan in the finals. Munger and Huyser are from Oskaloosa, while Huftalin is from Osage. This group ran the best time in the first round, 7:32.58, to make the finals.

This 4x800 team finished the season by breaking the Grand View School record and earning All-American Honors as well. This specific 4x8 group has 5 All- American titles to their name. They also earned a National title at the Indoor meet in 2021.