The Midwest Conference Meet was historic for the Knox Prairie Fire Track and Field program. Program records tumbled, athletes achieved season and personal bests, and a special award capped the event.

Lance Miller led the way for the Prairie Fire, setting a new program record in the 1500 meters and earning the Midwest Conference Elite 20 Award for his combined athletic and academic excellence.

Friday saw Miller set a new program record in the 1500, running 3:54.04 to finish fourth. He continued his momentum on Saturday by adding a sixth-place performance in the 5000, running 15:16.55. 

Miller's efforts on and off the track earned him the league's Elite 20 award. This prestigious honor recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA among those competing at the conference championship finals site.

Miller's achievements set the tone, but he was not the only Prairie Fire athlete breaking records. On Friday, Elle Haddon set a new program mark in the javelin with a best effort of 36.15 meters, finishing third in the conference meet.

Building on Friday's successes, Stephanie Nelson moved into fourth place all-time at Knox in the shot put and placed eighth with a toss of 11.23 meters. She had a great all-around meet, finishing 10th in the discus (34.94 meters) and fifth in the hammer (43.59 meters).

Adding to the team's points, Ryan Lautzenhiser advanced on Friday to the 400-meter finals with a 1.1-second personal-best (50.74), the fourth-fastest time in prelims and nearly a Knox top 10 performance. On Saturday, he placed fifth to score more points for Prairie Fire (51.48). 

Saturday's highlights included Colson Elisme's tremendous performance in the men's shot put (14.84 meters), a 2.5-meter season-best throw, earning sixth and ranking him third in Knox history. Also on Saturday, Elsie Conwell placed eighth in the 3000 steeplechase, improving her time to fifth in school history (12.52.82).

Ethan Strutzel scored points for the men's team with a sixth-place finish in the javelin, throwing 45.25 meters.

The Prairie Fire men's relay teams achieved season-best times, with both the 4x400 and 4x100 squads each finishing eighth in their respective events. 

The Knox men's team finished ninth overall and scored nine points, while the women's team placed eighth with 12 points at the conference meet.