VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUAthletics.com) –
Valley City State University track and field athletes won five conference championships and had 13 All-Conference performances during the two-day North Star Athletic Association Conference Meet held Thursday and Friday in Valley City.
Final Results | Day 1 Photos | Day 2 Photos
The Vikings won five individual titles in events on Friday, headlined by a sprinting sweep from Brooke Malsom. The Viking senior raced to conference championships in both the women’s 100 (12.24) and 200 meter dashes (25.74). Malsom finished the meet with 34 team points and four All-Conference honors, also placing second in triple jump and third in long jump.
Kendra Odegard started the day off with a “bang” for the Vikings, throwing a new personal record of 43.29 meters to win the women’s javelin championship contested early Friday morning. That throw ranks Odegard fifth in the nation and improved upon her top national qualifying throw from earlier this season.
On the men’s side, Zachary Co won the men’s shot put title for the second straight year, recording a top mark of 16.05 meters. The Viking senior has now won the shot put title at five straight conference meets, including the last two outdoor and last three indoor NSAA meets. Co finished the meet with three All-Conference honors, placing first in shot put, second in hammer and third in discus.
In the men’s 400 hurdles, Clay Kummer raced to his first conference championship for VCSU. Kummer raced out to an early lead and then held on down the backstretch against a brutal headwind, beating second place by just .02 seconds in one of the most exciting races of the day.
The top three individual finishers in each event earn All-Conference, along with the top two relay teams in each event.
Other All-Conference performances for the Vikings on Friday came by Karly Just, who placed third in the women’s 3,000 meter steeplechase and Jade Azure, who placed third in the women’s discus (39.19 meters). Hannah Gordon (2nd, shot put) and Sadie Hansen (3rd, shot put) had All-Conference performances on Thursday.
The Top 8 finishers in each event score team points on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Valley City State’s women scored 133.5 team points, placing fourth overall out of seven teams. Dickinson State won the meet with 258 points.
The Viking men finished with 63 points to place fifth out of seven teams. Dakota State’s men won the conference title with 300 points.
Up next: Clay Kummer (400 hurdles), Zachary Co (shot put, hammer) and Kendra Odegard (javelin) have all previously qualified to compete at the NAIA National Meet, which will be held May 25-27 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
NSAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships
Women’s Team Scores – Final
1. Dickinson State 258
2. Viterbo 201.5
3. Dakota State 155
4. Valley City State 133.5
5. Iowa Wesleyan 39
6. Bellevue 31
7. Waldorf 30
VCSU Women – Top 8 Finishers
THURSDAY
10,000 Meter Run: 4. Jasmine Barnes, 44:31.83
4×800 Relay: 5. VCSU, 11:02.12 (Miyashiro, Gannon, Tibke, Cleveland)
Triple Jump: 2. Brooke Malsom, 11.09 meters; 5. Sydney Co, 10.41 meters
Shot put: 2. Hannah Gordon, 12.16 meters; 3. Sadie Hansen, 11.97 meters; 4. Jade Azure, 11.92 meters
FRIDAY
100 Meters: 1. Brooke Malsom, 12.24; 7. Lily Baldwin, 12.98
200 Meters: 1. Brooke Malsom, 25.74; 7. Lily Baldwin, 28.34
1500 Meters: 6. Angeline Gannon, 5:29.41
5000 Meters: 7. Jasmine Barnes, 21:38.49
100 Hurdles: 5. Taylor Sargent, 15.61
400 Hurdles: 4. Kyley Lauf, 1:14.54
3000 Steeplechase: 3. Karly Just, 13:18.09
4×100 Relay: 4. VCSU (Malsom, Sargent, Baldwin, Odegard)
4×400 Relay: 5. VCSU, 4:53.72 (Lauf, Miyashiro, Wibke, Cleveland)
High jump: 5. Taylor Sargent, 1.48 meters; 8. Sydney Co, 1.38 meters
Long jump: 3. Brooke Malsom, 5.38 meters; 6. Taylor Sargent, 4.95 meters; 8. Brooke Blossom, 4.75 meters
Discus: 3. Jade Azure, 39.19 meters; 5. Sadie Hansen, 37.66 meters; 8. Kendra Odegard, 37.17 meters
Javelin: 1. Kendra Odegard, 43.29 meters; 5. Hannah Gordon, 29.47 meters; 7. Taylor Sargent, 28.37 meters
Men’s Team Scores – Final
1. Dakota State 300
2. Dickinson State 225
3. Waldorf 121
4. Viterbo 95
5. Valley City State 63
6. Iowa Wesleyan 19
7. Bellevue 15
VCSU Men – Top 8 Finishers
THURSDAY
4×800 Relay: 4. VCSU, 8:44.95 (Garcia, Benner, Femling, Rolfe)
Triple jump: 8. Jayden Gerringer, 12.59 meters
Hammer Throw: 2. Zachary Co, 55.09 meters (new national qualifier)
FRIDAY
1500 Meters: 5. Noah Rolfe, 4:31.13
5000 Meters: 8. Jayden Wheeling, 17:08.41
110 Hurdles: 4. Clay Kummer, 15.61
400 Hurdles: 1. Clay Kummer, 56.73; 8. Spencer Mattheis, 1:09.47
Men 3000 Steeplechase: 6. Jayden Wheeling, 10:58.67
4×100 Relay: 5. VCSU, 46.04 (Kummer, Geringer, Fountain, Smith)
4×400 Relay: 5. VCSU, 3:50.31 (Kummer, Garcia, Mattheis, Femling)
High jump: 8. Jayden Gerringer, 1.80 meters
Shot put: 1. Zachary Co, 16.05 meters
Discus: 3. Zachary Co, 45.71 meters