FINAL RESULTS
DAY ONE RECAP
DAY TWO RECAP
LA CROSSE, WIS.—Bethel University senior Grant Nelson won his second-straight NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field 400 Meter Dash National Championship with a 45.76 on day three nationals at UW-La Crosse's Veteran Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Nelson's time is the third-fastest in NCAA Division III history. He has given Bethel all four of their NCAA Division III Outdoor National Championships in program history. The NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor 400 Meter Dash record is 44.66, achieved by Nelson's head coach, Andrew Rock (UW-La Crosse) in 2004. Nelson's national title gives Bethel nine Outdoor 400 Meter Dash All-America finishes in program history.
Bethel Outdoor National Champions
2024: 4x400 Meter Relay (Grant Nelson, Josh Sampson, Joel Smith, Jacob Parent)
2025: 4x400 Meter Relay (Grant Nelson, Victor Lelinga, Josh Thomsen, Jacob Parent), 400 Meter Dash (Grant Nelson)
2026: 400 Meter Dash (Grant Nelson)
The Royals finished the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field meet in ninth place with 19 points. Host school UW-La Crosse won the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championship with 106 points.
Day three saw the 4x100 meter relay team of Nelson, Landen Liu, Stephen Feig, and Cameron McConnell notch a school-record time of 40.10 in the finals, which put them in fourth place and earned them All-America First Team for the third-straight season. The previous school record of 40.24 was achieved in yesterday's 4x100 meter relay prelims.
The 4x400 meter relay team of Nelson, Tony Haack, Caleb Ketterling, and Elliott Kent prevailed with a season-best 3:10.26 in the finals, good enough for fifth place and All-America First Team distinction for the 10th time in program history. Bethel now has five-straight All-America finishes in the outdoor 4x400 meter relay, which includes the 2024 and 2025 national championships.
