Men’s golf team, track jumpers Lorenzo Luces and Maxwell Wordui win NAIA national titles.
COLUMBIA, KY. (05/27/2025) Lindsey Wilson College athletics scored a trifecta over Memorial Day weekend, winning three NAIA national championships in two sports.
On Thursday, May 22, Maxwell Wordui ’26 captured the men’s long jump title when he sailed 7.74 meters at the 2025 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship, held at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Indiana.
The next day, teammate Lorenzo Luces ’26 lept 15.49 meters in the men’s triple jump to win the national title, the eighth individual national title in the history of Lindsey Wilson track and field.
Meanwhile, more than 300 miles to the west at historic TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, the Lindsey Wilson men’s golf team made its own history on Friday, May 23. On the final hole, Rio Saigal ’26 recorded a two-putt par to give the Blue Raiders their first NAIA men’s golf national championship, Lindsey Wilson’s 20th overall NAIA team national title.
It was the first time Lindsey Wilson — whose athletics program has won more than 120 team and individual national championships — has won national titles in two sports on the same day. Both teams also made history under the guidance of Lindsey Wilson alumni — golf coach Chris Butler ’16, track and field head coach Anthony Thompson ’18 and assistant coach Alexia DeHaven ’19.
“I’d be lying to you if I said I can’t wait to see that national championship banner hanging up on campus,” said Butler, who also played golf for Lindsey Wilson. “Playing here and now coaching here has been so cool. To have a small piece of history etched into the college is pretty special.”
Alumni pride
Watching Lindsey Wilson claim national titles in jump competition was extra special to Thompson, who was one of the Blue Raiders’ top jumpers when he competed as a student.
“Being a jumper and then transitioning over to coaching the jumps, you understand where they are mentally,” he said. “You understand who they are, you understand their weaknesses, you understand their strengths, and you always remind them that it will happen when it’s supposed to happen. God’s timing is the right timing.”
For DeHaven, helping coach her first two Lindsey Wilson national champions was a “full-circle moment.”
“It’s just beautiful to witness somebody that has worked so hard receive the recognition they deserve and become a national champion,” she said. “It’s just a blessing to be around that experience.”
Preparing to be a champion
By the middle of the track and field season, Wordui said he felt that he had the potential to win a national title.
“We had been working toward it. We saw it coming,” he said. “Because I had been working toward it, and as a Christian I had been praying for it. Sacrifices had to be made — diet, sleep, the list goes on.”
If Luces also felt good about his potential to earn first place at the national meet, DeHaven was even more optimistic. Midway through the season, she started to refer to him half-jokingly as “champ.”
“I told him since the middle of the season that he would be the national champ,” she said. “We kind of made a joke about it.”
Thompson said he also wasn’t surprised the two won a national title.
“I’ve never had to question them about their academics, I’ve never had to question them about their character, I’ve never had to question them about whether they are eating healthy,” he said. “Them being who they are is how they won those titles easily.”
In addition to making sacrifices, another reason Luces and Wordui wound up first on the podium was because of their focus.
“They both worked very, very hard all season,” said DeHaven. “They both experienced some injuries throughout the season, but that didn’t stop them from achieving what they wanted.”
A team effort
Butler said that a true team effort was key to the Blue Raiders winning the NAIA’s 73rd golf national championship.
“We talk so much about having all five guys available,” he said. “If we can do that, then it will be good for you coming down the stretch. And we were fortunate that all five players were in the mix for us because that takes some of the pressure off.”
After a first round that was spread over two days because of rain and winds that soaked and whipped the course on the Illinois Prairie course, the Blue Raiders stood in third place in the 29-team field after posting a team-total 3-over par 287. That put Lindsey Wilson seven strokes behind first-round leader Wayland Baptist (Texas) University.
Then in the second round, as the weather improved, Lindsey Wilson recorded its first bit of golf history. Buoyed by Saigal’s 4-under par 67 — which included four birdies in his final six holes — and Stanley White’s ’28 1-under 70, the Blue Raiders as a team shot a 2-under par 282 to vault into the lead. It was the first time Lindsey Wilson led heading into the national championship’s final round.
On the final day, the Blue Raiders expanded their lead to as many as 10 strokes before Saigal sealed the outcome with his two-putt par. And as the team celebrated on the course that is home to the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic, Butler savored the historic moment.
“It’s all about these kids and the effort they have put in,” he said. “It was cool to sit back, become a spectator and watch them celebrate, and allow all of the light to shine bright on them.”
Rising coaches
In a sense, Butler and Thompson came up together as Lindsey Wilson coaches. Before they were named head coaches — Butler in 2023 and Thompson in 2024 — they were roommates when they served as assistant coaches in their respective programs.
“To be able to see where we both are eight years later, I think that shows that some good things are happening inside the Blue,” said Thompson.
And for DeHaven, the programs’ successes on the national stage is another reminder of what makes her alma mater so special.
“This is a prime example of why LWC is family,” she said. “Lindsey Wilson just feels like home. When you have people who come back who want to see Lindsey Wilson keep growing, that’s how we produce national champions. We want to see Lindsey Wilson continue to do great things.”
Members of the Lindsey Wilson College men’s golf team celebrate winning the program’s first NAIA men’s golf national championship, Lindsey Wilson’s 20th overall NAIA team national title. From left: head coach Chris Butler ’16, Adam Hawthorn ’25, James Gibb ’27, Charlie Jones ’27, Rio Saigal ’26, Toby White ’27, Stanley White ’28, Johan Bredenkamp ’26 and assistant coach Puthita Khuanrudee.
Lindsey Wilson College’s Lorenzo Luces ’26 won the men’s triple jump at the 2025 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Lindsey Wilson College’s Maxwell Wordui ’26 won the men’s long jump at the 2025 NAIA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship.
Lindsey Wilson College is a vibrant liberal arts college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson — which will become Lindsey Wilson University on July 1 — has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students, and the college offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The college’s 28 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson College)