DES MOINES/INDIANOLA, Iowa – The North Dakota track & field program continued its weekend in Iowa, recording four top-10 marks in the program's record book that included a Divison I first for UND while holding its weight against the nation's elite at the Drake Relays.
Odin Nelson finished fifth overall in the men's javelin at Drake, becoming the first Fighting Hawk and the first in North Dakota's Division I history to uncork a 200-foot throw. Nelson's toss of 204-3 (62.39) on his final attempt moved him into fourth in the record book and was the best throw for UND since 2008.
Destinee Rose-Haas finished third in the discus with a mark of 173-8 (52.93m), the second-best throw in the preliminary round. She was bested on the final throw of finals but remained in the top three.
Jennifer Parent made her first career appearance on UND's pole vault top-10, clearing 11-10.50 (3.62m) on her first attempt and tied for sixth at the meet. The Fighting Hawk now ranks sixth all-time in the North Dakota annals.
Maddie Jerome won her heat in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal-record time of 62.32 to hold her spot at sixth all-time in the event. She finished sixth in the event, just three places ahead of
Elaina Swartz, who ran a 63.43.
Chris Evenson placed 10th in the shot put, falling just two inches shy of qualifying for the finals with a heave of 54-2.75 (16.53m).
Lucy Steinmeyer closed out the second day of the Drake Relays for North Dakota, finishing fourth in her heat and overall in the 400-meters with a time of 55.09. Steinmeyer outlasted the fifth finisher Nell Graham of North Dakota State in the final stretch to remain in the top-four.
Twenty miles down the road in Indianola at the Kip Janvrin Open, the Fighting Hawks shared the same success with seven top-five finishes at the meet and one win.
Amanda Robbins won the 800-meters and recorded a new PR in the process with her time of 2:16.30, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of the runner-up.
Alec Nelson cracked the UND record book in the men's 800-meters, finishing second with a 1:54.19 to record the ninth fastest time in program history.
Matt Culhane also took runner-up honors, recording 148-2 (45.17m) on his final throw in the discus competition.
Ellie Miller started the trend of Fighting Hawk second-place finishers, clearing 5-3 (1.60m) in the high jump to start the morning.
Allison Lardy closed the meet with a new personal best in the shot put and cemented herself in a tie for sixth all-time in the shot put at UND. Lardy uncorked a throw of 46-2.50 (14.08m) on her sixth and final attempt at the meet.
Brooklynn Gould finished in the top five in three events, placing fourth in the javelin with a toss of 110-7 (33.72m) and fourth in the long jump at 17-9.50 (5.42m). Gould finished fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.41. Classmate
Grace Henneman finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a PR of 15.21.
Jacob Henne was the final runner on the track for North Dakota at the Kip Javrin, placing fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and recording a time of 9:56.41.
The University of North Dakota will close the Drake Relays on Saturday, starting at 12:45 p.m. with
Makala Keefe in the hammer throw.