FOREST CITY, IA. (vcsuvikings.com) – Peyton Halverson and Kyle Odegard won conference titles Thursday as the VCSU track and field teams competed at the NSAA Championships in Forest City, Iowa.
Odegard threw a season-best 61.90 meters to win the men’s javelin title, while Halverson launched a toss of 33.53 to win the women’s javelin.
It is the third career conference title for Odegard, who beat second place by more than 22 feet on Thursday. Odegard’s throw on Thursday ranks him No. 4 in the nation. A two-time All-American, Odegard has qualified to compete at the NAIA National Championships later this month in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Weitkum finished the 3000 meter steeplechase in a school-record time of 12:25.05, shattering the previous record of 13:01.02 set by Kristina Fricke in 2019. Weitkum’s record time was good for sixth place at the Ron Masanz Meet, which featured competitors from several NCAA Division I and II schools. Weitkum’s time ranks her first in the NSAA this season by 42 seconds.
This is the 10th school record set by the VCSU track & field teams in 2021.
Zachary Co bested a field of 33 competitors to win the men’s shot put on Saturday. His winning mark of 16.93 meters (55’6.5″) was just off his personal best throw last week. Co also added a fourth-place finish in the discus.
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