Adarra Hagelund capped her collegiate career with a third national title in the high jump. Photo courtesy of Dickinson State Athletics
Adarra Hagelund and Dylan Dahlgren have been firing on all cylinders all season long. The teammates from Soldotna capped their illustrious track and field careers at Dickinson State as gold and silver medalists at the NAIA Outdoor Championships in Asheville, N.C.
Hagelund cleared 5 feet, 11.25 inches in the high jump to match her lifetime best and collect her third national title — two outdoors and one indoors — while helping the Blue Hawk women to a third-place team finish.
Competing in her sixth national championship, the senior’s performance was stunning, soaring over 5-5.75 in one try after bypassing the opening height of 5-3.75 and continuing her perfect series through 5-9.75.
By then, Hagelund had one hand on the gold — thanks to her flawless scorecard — as the 18-person field dwindled to just two athletes: she and two-time NAIA champion Emma Valentine of Siena Heights.
The two jumpers vied at 5-10.75. Hagelund cleared the height on her third try to seal the deal, while Valentine bowed out after three attempts.
But the former Soldotna Star was not done yet.
She surpassed 5-11.25 on her second attempt, matching her two-week-old personal best that doubles as the program record, Alaska all-time record and the joint No. 3 performer in NAIA outdoor history.
Hagelund concluded her competition after three attempts at 6-0, claiming her third national title and fourth All-American honor.
The win marked Hagelund’s 35th collegiate victory in the high jump — an event she only picked up during her senior year at SoHi, winning the state title in her maiden season before signing with Dickinson State.
In the four years since, she’s added 10.25 inches onto her personal best over and raised the outdoor program record by 4.25 inches during that time, as well.
Hagelund was instrumental once again for the Blue Hawks, who finished third with 40 points — their highest national placement in outdoor program history — while the team’s remaining points all came in the throwing events.
Adarra Hagelund was key in the Blue Hawks’ third-place finish at the NAIA Championships. Photo courtesy of Dickinson State Athletics
“In track and field it’s easy to think of things in terms of individual performances,” said coach Shayne Wittkopp in a press release. “Only a couple times a year does the final score count more than anything else.”
“This week it was very gratifying to see this special group of student-athletes pull together with one singular focus.”
British Columbia took the team title with 101.5 points, followed by Cumberlands (Ky.) in second with 52 points.
Teammate Dylan Dahlgren’s final collegiate track and field competition was highlighted by a runner-up finish in the hammer throw and a seventh-place showing in the discus, garnering a pair of All-American honors.
The senior from Soldotna unleashed a colossal throw of 198 feet in the hammer to finish second, trailing only Cornerstone’s Ryan Shinabery by three inches.
Entering the meet as the sixth-seed, Dahlgren was projected to net his second straight All-American honor in the hammer, but after a first-round throw of 195-9, the senior launched to an early lead.
And after the top-two ranked throwers fouled out during the prelims, Dahlgren continued to capitalize in the fourth round, followed by a commendable throw of 192-4 in the fifth round to conclude one of his best series yet.
Dylan Dahlgren placed runner-up in the hammer throw at the NAIA Championships. Photo courtesy of Dickinson State Athletics
Dahlgren returned on day two to take 12th in the shot put, throwing 53-1 to miss out on finals by less than 11 inches.
But the Men’s Midwest Field Athlete of the Year rebounded incredibly, throwing the discus 165-3 the following day to surprise himself with his first All-American honor in the event.
Not to mention, Dahlgren was the only athlete from the Midwest Region to qualify for the NAIA Outdoor Championships in three field events on the men’s side and the first male thrower in program history to do so since 2006.
Ranked 13th nationally, Dahlgren’s first-round throw of 164-8 was enough to qualify for the finals with the fifth-best throw in the field.
He added seven inches to the mark during the fifth round to stay within the top-7, as Cornerstone’s Stuart Stovall won the competition with a sixth-round throw of 182-11.
Dickinson State finished 20th, as Dahlgren accounted for 10 of the team’s 14.4 points. The Blue Hawks also scored in the 10K and the pole vault.
Cumberlands (Ky.) stormed to the team title with 79 points, while Indiana Tech took second with 49.2 points.
Dahlgren closed out his collegiate track and field career as a five-time All-American (2 hammer throw, 2 weight throw, 1 discus), while netting 19 event wins (18 coming in the last two years) and setting program records in the hammer throw and weight throw — two events that Dahlgren picked up at Dickinson State.
He also ranks second in Alaska history in the hammer throw (198-2) and weight throw (63-3.5), third in the discus (167-2) and fourth all-time in shot put (55-0).
“I’m very proud of the performance the men and the women’s teams put together,” coach Shayne Wittkopp said in a press release. “I’m most proud of how they supported each other and competed hard for each other.”
“It will be hard to say goodbye to this special group of seniors. They’ve done a lot for the program and represented the university with class and made us all proud. They are Forever Hawks.”
And while Dahlgren’s career in the throwing ring may be complete, he plans to make a return to the gridiron, with one final season as a defensive lineman.
Dylan Dahlgren learned and mastered the hammer throw in less than four seasons. Photo courtesy of Dickinson State Athletics
