By Garret Fettig, VCSU Student Writer
Alaska and North Dakota alike boast freezing winters, beautiful scenery, and abundant natural wildlife, but Dr. David Woods noticed a difference all the same.
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Woods flew into North Dakota for the first time in August 1998 to attend fall football practice at Valley City State University.
“I wore a nice, black Adidas tracksuit when I came to North Dakota,” he recalls. “When I came out of the Fargo airport it was 98 degrees, and I’d never been in heat like that. I quickly ran in, stripped off all of my clothes, and came out in shorts and a tank top. Much better.”
RAPID CITY, N.D (vcsuvikings.com) – Rory Gentzkow and Taylor Finlayson both finished in the Top 20 this week as VCSU golf competed at the large Hardrocker Invite.
The 36-hole tournament was played in cool and windy conditions Monday and Tuesday at Arrowwood Country Club in Rapid City, S.D.
Gentzkow was the top Viking finisher as he tied for 12th in the men’s tournament. After shooting an 81 on Monday, Gentzkow fired a 3-over 75 on Tuesday. Taylor Finlayson also carded a 75 on Tuesday as he tied for 17th with a 159 total (84-75).
A total of 46 men’s golfers competed in the tournament. Jayden Ewoniuk was tied for sixth after shooting a 77 on day one. He carded an 85 on day two to finish tied for 25th. Hunter Berg rounded out VCSU’s team score with a 185 (98-87). The Vikings carded a 340 on Monday, but cut 18 shots off on day two for a 322 team score.
VALLEY CITY, N.D. (vcsuvikings.com) – The Valley City State softball team was down to its final out on Sunday, trailing 10-5 during game one of a doubleheader with Bellevue University. That final out never happened.
The Vikings put together six straight two-out singles – tying the game at 10-10 – and then Marissa Hawkins hit a walk-off grand slam to complete a stunning comeback. When the celebration ended the Vikings had scored nine runs with two outs, rallying for an improbable 14-10 victory.
Bellevue earned a doubleheader split with a 10-1 victory in game two as pitcher Cory Carrillo flirted with a perfect game.
VALLEY CITY – The Valley City State softball team totaled four home runs and 20 hits in a Saturday sweep over Bellevue. The Vikings took game one 9-3 and game two 7-5.
Valley City State improves to 16-4 overall this season and 9-1 in the NSAA. Bellevue drops to 22-15 overall and 8-4 in the conference.
VCSU 9, Bellevue 3
Riley Perryman opened scoring Saturday with a solo home run in the second inning. Bellevue’s Ellie Bliemeister put the Bruins on the board with a two-run homer in the third, answered by a two-run blast from VCSU’s Marissa Hawkins. Bellevue then tied it up 3-3 in the fourth.
Co continued his strong start to the outdoor season, winning both the shot put and hammer throw at the two-day meet hosted by Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. He bested a field of 25 throwers to win the shot put for the third straight meet, recording a throw of 16.73 meters. Co also recorded a career-best throw of 50.59 meters to win the hammer throw – moving up to first in the conference rankings – and placed fourth in discus with another career-best mark of 47.20 meters.
On the women’s side, Brooke Malsom put together a big meet for the Vikings earning three Top 4 finishes and a new school record. Malsom ran collegiate-best times in both the 100 and 200 meters. Her time of 12.55 in the 100 meters was a new school record, breaking the previous mark of 12.79 held by Megan Capistrano. Malsom took second place in the 100 meters, and she placed fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 26.28 seconds – which was just .09 seconds off the school record. She also added a