Van Prooyen Earns All-American Honors in 5,000-meters
Indoor National Championships Central
Brookings, S.D. – The Taylor men's track and field team concluded the final day of competition at the 2022 NAIA Indoor National Championships. The day did not go as planned and many performances were not what the Trojans were hoping for. However, the last event on the track brought some light to the Purple and Gold, as Derek Van Prooyen collected All-American honors in the 5,000-meters.
In an extremely talented 5,000-meter field, Derek Van Prooyen and Alex Helmuth competed with grit as both men finished in the top-10. Helmuth raced in the top pack from the beginning, even throughout lead shuffles and changes. He ran strong, however Helmuth narrowly missed earning All-American honors, ending in ninth place overall with a time of 14:45.75. Van Prooyen cruised a smart race from the beginning, before making a move and shifting into the top-eight. Van Prooyen ended with a strong finish and grabbed seventh-place, claiming his first track and field All-American award, while clocking a time of 14:42.78.
In the 60-meter hurdle finals, Matthew Sakeuh got tripped up on the second-to-last hurdle and unfortunately fell. The senior ended up disqualified in the event.
Sammy Sommers logged a distance of 14.03-meters in the triple jump. The junior finished in 17th place overall.
Liam Hesting fouled his three attempts in the shot put prelims and did not record a mark.
In the pole vault, Damon Knowles did not attempt a height.
The Taylor men garnered two points for the weekend, and ended the meet in 53rd place.
The Trojans will have a few weeks off before turning their attention to the outdoor track and field season. TU will kick off the outdoor action at the Emory Invitational on March 25 and 26 in Atlanta, Georgia.
