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CITY, N.D (NewsDakota.com) Jessica Meland’s first place hammer throw of 50.29 meters at the Northern State Open on Friday, shattered a Valley City State record and surpassed the National Championship qualifying mark of 50.21 meters.
Not only did the heave land Meland the top spot at the meet, but it fell as the 12th best hammer throw in the country. The 165 foot record breaking toss automatically qualifies the Vikings sophomore for the NAIA National Championships, on May 22nd in Gulf Shore, Alabama. Maybe more impressive is that the throw sailed five meters further then the schools previous record of 44.85 meters, a mark also set by the Harvey, North Dakota native.
Meland also took home fourth place in the shot put with a throw of 11.66 meters.
The Vikings also had a strong showing in the Javelin where Jenna Coghlan captured sixth in the women’s division with a throw of 36 meters. On the men’s side, Jordan Aus earned the same rank with his 49.14 meter throw.
In the running events, Alicia VanSweringen placed eighth in the 100m hurdles, and Randy Hoang took seventh in the 100m dash.
The Vikings will travel to Moorhead, Minnesota on Tuesday for the Cobber Twilight Meet at Concordia College.