AREA SPORTS BRIEFS: PA’s Gladfelter second at NAIA indoor nationals

Published 4:30 pm Tuesday, March 10, 2026

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Port Angeles’ Jack Gladfelter keeps collecting medals in distance events and came within one second last week of a national championship.

Gladfelter, who graduated from PAHS in 2023, finished second in the 5,000 meters at the NAIA Indoor National track and field meet at the Lalachua County Sports and Event Center last week.

Gladfelter, a sophomore running for Corban University in Salem, Ore., finished in a time of 14 minutes, 14.31 second, about one second behind the winner, senior Luca Madeo of Cumberlands University in Kentucky.

Gladfelter’s time was just off his personal best of 14:11.21, set in February at the Husky Classic in Seattle. He has two years of college eligibility left.

Gladfelter also had a sixth-place finish in the 10,000 meters in the NAIA outdoors championships in May 2025 and a second-place finish in the 10,000 at the Cascade Collegiate Conference championships in Oregon, also in May 2025. Gladfelter was also 11th at the NAIA cross-country national championship in November 2025 and eighth at the cross-country nationals in November 2024.

While running for Port Angeles High School, he had fifth-place finishes in the 1,600 and 3,200 at the state 2A track and field championships in 2022 and a third-place finish in the state cross-country championship in 2023.

Peninsula Daily News