FOREST CITY, IA. (vcsuvikings.com) – Zachary Co, Allyssa Weitkum and Brooke Malsom all won conference titles Friday as the VCSU track and field teams wrapped up competition at the NSAA Championships in Forest City, Iowa.
Co won the men’s shot put and set a new meet record. Malsom won the women’s long jump with a new meet record, and Weitkum ran away with 3000 meter steeplechase title by more than 27 seconds. They join Kyle Odegard (men’s javelin) and Peyton Halverson (women’s javelin) as individual conference champions for VCSU at the two-day meet.
The Vikings finished the NSAA Championships with those five individual titles and 11 total All-Conference performances. As a team, VCSU’s men placed third with 70 team points. The Viking women placed fourth with 86.4 points.
The top six finishers at the NSAA Championships earned team points, while the top three individuals in each event – and the top two relays – earned All-Conference honors.
Zachary Co won the shot put title on Friday, setting a new conference meet record with his top throw of 16.53 meters. He has qualified to compete at nationals in both shot put and discus.
Allyssa Weitkum won the women’s 3000 meter steeplechase, beating second place by more than 27 seconds as she crossed the line in a time of 12:31.10. In women’s long jump, Malsom set a new personal record and a new conference meet record with her jump of 5.56 meters (18′-3″). Malsom actually tied for first place with Dickinson’s Faith Brennan, but Malsom won the title via tiebreaker due to her second-best jump being farther than Brennan’s.
Along with breaking the NSAA meet record in long jump, Malsom broke her own school records in both the 100 and 200 meter races during the NSAA meet. On Friday, she placed second in the 200-meter dash with a school record time of 25.30, earning All-Conference honors. Malsom broke her own 100-meter school record during the preliminaries on Thursday, running 12.32. She finished the finals Friday in fourth place with a time of 12.40.
Also on Friday, Clay Kummer earned All-Conference in the 400 hurdles as he placed second in 55.32 seconds. Hannah Gordon placed second in the women’s shot put, throwing 11.05 meters to earn All-Conference as well.
Up next: Zachary Co (shot put, hammer throw) and Kyle Odegard (javelin) have qualified to compete at the NAIA National Championships, May 26-28 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
NSAA Championships – Forest City, Iowa
Final Team Results
Men: 1. Dakota State, 250; 2. Dickinson State, 237; 3. Valley City State, 70; 4. Viterbo, 52; 5. Waldorf, 32; 6. Bellevue, 23
Women: 1. Dickinson, 215.2; 2. Dakota State, 200; 3. Viterbo, 137.2; 4. Valley City State, 86.4; 5. Waldorf 30.2; 6. Bellevue, 6
VCSU Men – Top 6 Finishers
FRIDAY
110 hurdles: 4. Clay Kummer, 15.72
400 hurdles: 2. Clay Kummer, 55.32
1500 meters: 6. Bryce Nelson, 4:28.01
Discus: 6. Zachary Co, 41.59 meters
High jump: 4. Alex Otto, 1.90 meters
Shot put: 1. Zachary Co, 16.53 meters
4×100 relay: 5. VCSU, 45.06 (Kummer, Reed, Koetz, Fuchs)
4×400 relay: 3. VCSU, 3:33.35 (Kummer, Femling, Otto, Fuchs)
THURSDAY
400 meters: 3. Cody Fuchs, 49.87
10,000 meters: 5. Bryce Nelson, 37:49.10
Hammer throw: 3. Zachary Co, 48.78 meters
Javelin: 1. Kyle Odegard, 61.90 meters; 5. Alex Otto, 47.62 meters
Pole vault: 6. Hayden Thingvold, 3.35 meters
Triple jump: 6. Garrett Ward, 12.81 meters
4×800 Relay: 3. VCSU, 8:48.39 (Femling, Wheeling, Goldade, Nelson)
VCSU Women – Top 6 Finishers
FRIDAY
100 meters: 4. Brooke Malsom, 12.40
100 hurdles: 6. Taylor Sargent, 16.66
200 meters: 2. Brooke Malsom 25.30
3000 steeplechase: 1. Allyssa Weitkum, 12:31.10
5000 meters: 4. Allyssa Weitkum, 20:23.16; 6. Jasmine Barnes, 20:39.15
Discus: 5. Kayla Klemmer, 33.53 meters
High jump: 6. Tyler Smith & Taylor Sargent, 1.39 meters
Long jump: 1. Brooke Malsom, 5.56 meters
Shot put: 2. Hannah Gordon, 11.95 meters
4×100 relay: 5. VCSU, 55.42 (Malsom, Halverson, Smith, Harris)
4×400 relay: 4. VCSU, 4:37.48 (Malsom, Lauf, Vasicek, Ishizaka)
THURSDAY
10,000 meters: 2. Jasmine Barnes, 44:46.39
Hammer throw: 5. Hannah Gordon, 40.71 meters
Javelin: 1. Peyton Halverson, 33.53 meters; 4. Hannah Gordon, 31.63 meters
4×800 Relay: 4. VCSU, 11:21.58 (Lauf, Vasicek, Ishizaka, Weitkum)
Pentathlon: 4. Taylor Sargent