Former Jamestown standout Anthonett Nabwe heads to NCAA nationals

Former Jamestown standout Anthonett Nabwe gave Stutsman County a direct link to NCAA Division I championship week as she competed at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, among three former North Dakota high school athletes on the national stage. The 2026 NCAA outdoor track and field championships ran June 10-13, and Nabwe was entered in the women’s hammer throw and shot put.

The North Dakota High School Activities Association said Nabwe was joined at the meet by Paul Olson, a 2022 Kindred High School graduate who competed in the men’s decathlon for North Dakota State, and Kelsie Belquist, a 2024 New Rockford-Sheyenne High School graduate who was entered in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and women’s 4x400 relay. For Jamestown, Nabwe’s presence turned a national meet into a local achievement, with a former Blue Jay carrying the area’s name into one of college track and field’s biggest stages.

Nabwe’s rise has deep roots in Jamestown. The University of Minnesota lists her hometown as Monrovia, Liberia/Jamestown, North Dakota, and says she moved to Jamestown before her freshman year of high school. By the time she graduated from Jamestown High School in 2022, she had won five individual North Dakota state titles, including shot put, discus and javelin as a senior, plus shot put and discus as a junior. She also finished second in the 100 meters as a junior and third as a senior, a reminder of how wide her range was before she became known nationally as a thrower.

Her college career has only expanded that profile. Minnesota said Nabwe qualified for the NCAA West Regional in shot put, discus and hammer throw, one of only three athletes in the country to do that in the same season. She had already won the NCAA indoor weight throw title in March 2026, becoming a national champion before stepping onto the outdoor championship stage. Minnesota also placed her on The Bowerman watch list, underscoring that her season had already moved beyond regional success into the sport’s highest tier.

For Jamestown, Nabwe’s trip back onto the national scene reflects more than one athlete’s success. It points to a pipeline built through local schools, coaching and community support that can carry a student-athlete from Stutsman County to Oregon and into NCAA title contention.