Ref. Athletic 51908

Freshman Marin Thorson of St. Ansgar High School became North Iowa Area Community College’s first-ever individual national champion in track and field, winning the women’s discus event Saturday at the NJCAA Outdoor Nationals at South Plains College.

Thorson, a three-time state champion while in high school, had her best toss of the year, 157 feet, 4 inches and needed every bit of it, edging the 157-3 toss by Kelsey Poljansek of Cowley County Community College. Thorson had been seeded behind Poljansek in the national rankings before Saturday’s competition.

Sophomore Ronnisha Hall of Pahokee, FL and Pahokee High School finished off an illustrious career at NIACC by placing fifth in the women’s javelin with a school-record toss of 125-6. Central Arizona’s Ashton McGuire won the event with a throw of 132-10. Hall competed in four events at nationals, placing third in the hammer throw on Friday with a personal-best toss of 154-2 and also participating in the shot put and discus over the weekend. For her two-year career – indoor and outdoor track combined – she was a top-10 finisher six times, placing third three times.

Freshman Kacy Nehowig (Paynesville, MN/HS) finished 14th in Saturday’s 5,000-meter women’s race. She was clocked in 19 minutes, 39.93 seconds on Saturday. She was 11th in the 1,500 – sixth among Americans – and earned NJCAA USA Coaches Association All-American honors (top six Americans). Overall, NIACC (coached by Curtis Vais) finished 11th as a team with a total of 20 points as Central Arizona (131 points) edged the host school (124) for team honors.

In the men’s competition, sophomore Jordan Anderson of Mason City High finished 10th on Saturday in the 5,000, running a 15:30.37. On Thursday, he had placed sixth in the 10,000, having moved up a spot in the official standings and earning All-American honors. He earned NJCAA USA Coaches Association All-American honors in the 5,000 as well.

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