VALLEY CITY, N.D. (VCSUVikings.com) – Five Valley City State University student-athletes will be competing at the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships this week in Gulf Shores, Ala.

Senior Megan Johnson is competing in women’s long jump and triple jump; juniors Sayge McKrill and Mackenzie Huber have qualified to throw in the women’s discus; and freshman Kyle Odegard and sophomore Garret Roemmich are both competing in men’s javelin.

VCSU distance runners Grace Miller and Dennis Gonzalez also qualified in the marathon for the national meet, but are unable to compete.

The NAIA Championships run May 24-26 in Gulf Shores, Ala. Opening ceremonies for the national meet will be on Thursday at 2 p.m. Live video coverage of the national championships is available on a pay-per-view basis at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/naia/

Megan Johnson is the first Viking in action with the women’s long jump starting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Johnson’s school-record mark of 5.80 meters (19 feet, 1/2 inch) ranks her 16th out of 31 long jumpers. She is just 2.25 inches outside of the Top 10, and is less than 10 inches off the No. 2-ranked jumper.

Odegard and Roemmich also compete Thursday night with the men’s javelin starting at 6:30 p.m. Odegard enters the meet ranked No. 7 in the nation with his top mark of 59.73 meters (195 feet, 11 inches). He is VCSU’s strongest contender for All-American honors, which go to the Top 8 in each event. Roemmich’s top mark of 55.30 meters ranks him 25th entering the national championships.

Johnson is the lone Viking competing on Friday with the women’s triple jump starting at 5:30 p.m. Johnson’s top triple jump this season (11.61 meters/38 feet, 1 1/4 inches) ranks her 19th out of 26 jumpers.

On Saturday afternoon, McKrill and Huber compete in the women’s discus at 2 p.m. McKrill’s school-record throw of 43.66 meters (143 feet, 3 inches) ranks her 17th in the event. Huber ranks 21st entering the national meet with her top mark of 42.73 meters (140 feet, 2 inches).

The 2018 NAIA National Championships are being held at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala. Valley City State University has had a national champion each of the last two seasons as Seri Geisler won the women’s javelin in both 2016 and 2017.

NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships

VCSU Schedule of Events

Thursday

2 p.m. – Opening Ceremonies

5:30 p.m. – Women’s long jump (Megan Johnson)

6:30 p.m. – Men’s javelin (Kyle Odegard, Garret Roemmich)

Friday

5:30 p.m. – Women’s triple jump (Megan Johnson)

Saturday

2 p.m. – Women’s discus (Sayge McKrill, Mackenzie Huber)