MARION, Ind. — Hinsdale graduate and Dickinson State sophomore Kaitlyn McColly won the NAIA heptathlon national title Thursday afternoon.
McColly started the multis with a win in the 100-meter hurdles in 14.56 seconds on Wednesday afternoon. McColly was twice a State C runner-up in the 100 hurdles.
She finished up Day 1 as the overall leader after taking sixth in the high jump, 13th in the shot put and seventh in the 200-meter dash.
McColly put an exclamation point on her championship performance on Thursday, placing third in both the long jump and 800 and an eighth-place finish in the javelin to score a total of 4,922 points.
McColly entered as the nation's top seed in the event.
"Kaitlyn has worked really hard and come a long way from this time last year," head coach Shayne Wittkopp said in a Dickinson State press release. "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."
"We are incredibly proud of Kaitlyn for this prestigious honor," Dickinson State AD Pete Stanton said in a release. "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 the team."
McColly was joined on the podium by another Montana native, as Montana Tech sophomore and Fort Benton grad Abby Clark finished in third place.
