Valley City (CSi-VCSU) Valley City State University track and cross country coach Chris Johnson announced today the addition of 17 student-athletes for the 2017-18 season.
All 17 have signed letters of intent to continue their education and athletic careers at VCSU this fall. The group of nine men and eight women includes 13 students from North Dakota, three from Minnesota and one from Florida. All 17 have signed to do track & field, while several will run cross country as well.
”We are excited about having the opportunity to work with these student-athletes when they step foot on campus next year,” said Johnson. “There is plenty of potential in this group of recruits and I look forward to seeing what they can accomplish this year as they wind down their high school careers. I have no doubt they will contribute to our squad in a big way after some training at the collegiate level.”
Several of the students are school record holders at their high schools, and most are state qualifiers in various events. Highlighting the signings is one of the top high school javelin throwers in the country, Kyle Odegard from Lisbon, N.D. Odegard won the 2016 North Dakota Class B State Championship in javelin. His state championship throw of 201 feet, 8 inches was the top throw in the state in both divisions and was the 13th best throw in the country for high school javelin last season.
Recruiting is ongoing for the Vikings and Johnson says they hope to add to their strong recruiting class with more signings in the coming months.
Valley City State University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and a conference member of the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA). In Johnson’s first season as head coach, VCSU had five athletes qualify for the NAIA National Championships last year – including freshman Seri Geisler who won the NAIA national title in women’s javelin.
VCSU Cross Country/Track & Field – Signed Recruits for 2017-18
Men
Taylon Sad – Lisbon, N.D. – Lisbon High School
– Shot put and discus
Brett O’Connell – Minnewaukan, N.D. – Leeds High School
– Placed 8th at 2016 State Cross Country Meet
Adam Sakry – Milnor, N.D. – Milnor High School
– Holds school record in triple jump; Placed 2nd in TJ at State Meet
Kohlton Peterson – Grand Forks, N.D. – Grand Forks Central
– Cross Country/Distance; XC Team Captain
Konnor Stueve – Deer Creek, Minn. – Wadena-Deer Creek High School
– School record holder in 4×200 relay; All-State in track
Spencer Mattheis – Hazen, N.D. – Hazen High School
– Cross Country/Sprints; State qualifier in 200 meter and 400 meter relay
Kyle Odegard – Lisbon, N.D. – Lisbon High School
– 2016 State Champion in javelin; 2015 State Runner-up in javelin
Cody Huss – Pequot Lakes, Minn. – Pequot Lakes High School
– Holds school record in 4×400 and 4×200; 2x State Qualifier in 4×400
Take Enget – Powers Lake, N.D. – Powers Lake High School
– State qualifier in 100-meter dash and several relays
Women
Hannah Anderson – Milnor, N.D. – Milnor High School
– Holds school record in long jump and 300 meter hurdles
Peyton Halvorson – Cando, N.D. – North Star High School
– Holds school record in 400, long jump, triple jump, javelin; Placed 4th in javelin at State Meet
Maddie Fenske – Cottonwood, Minn. – Lakeview High School
– Holds school record in 800; Team MVP 2015
Grace Miller – St. Cloud, Fla. – St. Cloud High School/South Florida State College
– Cross Country/Distance; Placed 2nd in Florida’s NJCAA Regions; High school XC record holder
Addi Eckart – Hillsboro, N.D. – Hillsboro High School
– Hurdler; Region Champion in 4×400 relay
Sofia Muruato – Beach, N.D. – Beach High School
– 2x Team Most Valuable Field Athlete; 3x State Qualifier
Emma Weiss – Lisbon, N.D. – Lisbon High School
– Sprints; Holds school record in the 60; Placed 3rd in State in 4×100 relay
Amber Peterson – Forman, N.D. – Sargent Central High School
– State qualifier in high jump; Team Most Valuable Field Athlete
