VERMILLION, S.D. – On a very windy day where the winds occasionally gusted to 60 miles per hour, North Dakota picked up two event titles, set a Lillibridge Track Complex facility record and had 11 Fighting Hawks place in the top-eight of their respective events at the South Dakota Challenge on Saturday.
North Dakota set the tone in the discus, finishing with the top two spots.
Kenna Curry, competing unattached, took the title in a throw which would have broken the school record with a distance of 183-9 1/2 (56.02m).
Natalie Mohring finished as the runner-up with a mark of 176-3 1/2 (53.73m), moving her up to No. 3 on the UND top-10 list.
Both Curry and Mohring broke the Lillibridge Track Complex facility record of 173-6 (52.88m) set by Amanda Anderson of NDSU in 2021.
Elise Ulseth earned the 100-meter hurdles crown in a wind-aided time of 13.84, a time which would have broken the school record with a PR, but due to the wind of 5.1 meters/second and NCAA rule, it will not go in as a school record. Ulseth worked her way into the finals with the top time in prelims with a time of 14.06w.
Brooklynn Gould joined Ulseth in the 100-meter hurdles final and took eighth in a time of 15.11w. Gould qualified with the last spot in prelims in a time of 14.98w.
Hinewai Knowles (unattached) and
Aleece Durbin had the next two quickest times in prelims with times of 15.00w and 15.01w, respectively.
The Fighting Hawks also showed out in the long and triple jumps, picking up a total of seven top-eight finishes.
Jennifer Parent led the way in the long jump with a leap of 19-6 (5.94m)w to take third, while also placing fourth in the triple jump in a jump of 38-11 3/4 (11.88m)w.
Autumn Stokes joined Parent in both the long and triple jump, leading the way in the triple jump with a third-place finish in a distance of 39-6 1/2 (12.05m)w, which would have broken the school record with a PR, but due to the wind of 8.0 meters/second and NCAA rule, it will not go down as a program record. Stokes also took sixth in the long jump in a personal-best of 18-7 1/4 (5.67m)w.
Gould and
Elle Thorson also participated in the long jump and each tied for eighth with matching marks of 17-9 3/4 (5.43m)w.
Austin Wolf scored the final points for UND of the day, taking sixth in the long jump with a leap of 22-7 (6.88m)w. Wolf also finished just outside the finals of the triple jump with a distance of 43-1 3/4 (13.15m)w.
North Dakota will next compete in the final meets before the Summit League Outdoor Championships, participating in the Drake Relays on April 27-30 and the Kip Janvrin Open on April 29.
