BROOKINGS, S.D. -- Colome High School graduate Matthew Campbell, a thrower for Doane University, claimed the NAIA indoor weight throw national championship for a second consecutive season on Friday, March 4 on the campus of South Dakota State University.
Campbell, who now calls Ainsworth, Nebraska home, was seeking to become the first repeat champion in the NAIA men’s weight throw since 2017.
Campbell won the event with a throw of 20.91 meters, or 68 feet, 7.25 inches, to open the final round. The throw was his third personal best of the day, after throws of 20.49 meters and 20.69 meters in the qualifying rounds.
Campbell, who also previously competed at Dakota Wesleyan University as recently as 2019, won the national title in 2021 with a throw of 20.29 meters, or 66 feet, 7 inches. Campbell's victory gave Doane their first two-time champion in the weight throw and gave the Great Plains Athletic Conference its 11th weight throw national title since Doane's Will Moman won in 2006.
He was the GPAC men’s field athlete of the week in early February, with his top throw at the time being a toss of 19.9 meters, or 65 feet, 3.5 inches, which was the second-best in the nation at the time.
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Competing on Saturday, March 5, Campbell was also in the shot put, posting a top throw of 16.33 meters, or 53 feet, 7 inches, missing out on All-American honors by one place with a ninth-place finish.
For Dakota Wesleyan competitors at the national meet, Morgan Taft and Katlyn Briggs each had top-25 finishes in the women’s weight throw. Taft was 21st with a throw of 51 feet, 0.25 inches, while Briggs had 48 feet, 11.5 inches. In the men’s shot put, Caden Milmine was 15th, posting a top throw of 51 feet, 9.25 inches.
More on NAIA national meet involving area competitors will be published in this week's edition of Catching Up with former area athletes.
