Two VC Athletes Soar At NAIA National Championships

The collegiate Track and Field season wrapped up this past weekend, May 24-26, at the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Ind. Two Valley County students, Brett Glaser, of Glasgow, and Kaitlyn McColly, of Hinsdale, were top finishers in their respective sports.

Sophomore at Dickinson State, McColly became the first athlete in Dickinson State history to bring home a national championship in the Women's Haptathlon after she won the event on May 25. She started the competition strong, winning the first event, 100m hurdles with a time of 14.56 seconds. She took sixth in the high jump, 13th in the shot put and seventh in the 200m dash to finish up day one as the overall leader.

Day two saw McColly move up in the ranks, placing third in both the long jump and 800m run and eighth in the javelin for the title.

She entered the week as the nation's number one seed and lived up to the expectations from start to finish to earn 10 points for the Dickinson State Women's Outdoor Track and Field team.

"Kaitlyn has worked really hard and come a long way from this time last year," said head coach Shayne Wittkopp. "It's exciting to see that hard work pay off for an athlete. She's young and still can improve so much. The future is bright." Athletic Director Pete Stanton added, "We are incredibly proud of Kaitlyn for this prestigious honor. She becomes the fifth female track and field athlete at Dickinson State to win an individual national title. Kaitlyn has worked very hard to achieve this incredible achievement and all of us are very happy for her and her team."

At the same event, Carroll College senior Glaser earned All-American on May 25 for his second place finish in the decathlon.

The decathlon opened with 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters on day one of the championship, and Glaser came out running. He won the shot put, setting a personal record and he also ran a lifetime best in the 100m. He placed second in the 400m, however achieved his fastest time ever during a Decathlon. These accomplishments landed him in third place after the first day of competition.

The second day of competition saw Glaser moving his way to second place, which he held onto to clinch All-American. He set personal records in the 110m hurdles and pole vault, while also having solid competitive showings in the discus. He finished in second place both in the javelin and 1500m, which helped him move up to the All-American placing.

With Carroll College senior Garrett Kocab achieving his second track All-American Honor for his second place finish in the discus, Head Coach Harry Clark praised the two seniors. "These two seniors have gotten better their whole time at Carroll and finishing out second in the Nation is an amazing accomplishment that show how much work they put in," Clark stated.

Congratulations to these area athletes!