TULSA, Okla. – After three weather delays at the second day of the Summit League Outdoor Championships, North Dakota added four All-Summit League performers, with three gold medalists and a silver medalist on Friday. The Fighting Hawks also shattered three school records, recorded 11 improvements to the UND top-10 list and had 11 Hawks place.
Brooklynn Gould impressed throughout the heptathlon and came away with the gold medal, piling up a personal-best point total of 5,264 points. That point total now ranks No. 2 in school history and was good for Gould's first heptathlon title of her career.
After coming into the day with the top spot, Gould dominated the final three events of the heptathlon, getting the top performances in the long jump (19-0 1/2, 5.80m), javelin (114-11, 35.03m), and 800 meters (2:19.71). The long jump mark was a PR and moved Gould up to No. 3 in the record books in the event, while the 800-meter time cemented her spot as the Summit League Champion with a PR that beat the rest of the competition by over three seconds. In total, the Alaskan native posted three improvements to the UND top-10 list and recorded PR's in five of the seven heptathlon events.
Following a runner-up finish in the javelin on Thursday,
Elise Ulseth earned all-conference honors for the second time of the outdoor season, winning gold in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 20-10 3/4 (6.37m) on Friday afternoon. That mark obliterated her previous school record of 20-0 1/4 (6.10m) set earlier this season.
With the school record-breaking leap, Ulseth now owns the No. 25 long jump leap in the NCAA this season. Ulseth's jump likely qualified her for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the long jump, as that distance currently sits No. 13 in the West Region.
Luke Labatte was the third Hawk to capture gold, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:07.31. Labatte pulled away from the competition in the final 1,000 meters and crossed the finish line three seconds sooner than any other competitors in the race. With the finish, Labatte becomes a two-time All-Summit League honoree after taking third at the Summit League Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase last season.
Jadyn Keeler was the final UND athlete to earn the title of All-Summit League, getting the silver medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a PR time of 10:46.45. Keeler's time broke the school record of Veronica Sackett who ran a time of 10:51.74 at St. Thomas in 2005. Keeler's finish was also a one-spot improvement from where the Ontario native was projected to finish at the conference meet.
Before Ulseth's long jump title, she placed fifth in the high jump earlier in the day with a height of 5-7 1/4 (1.71m) to score the first points for UND of the day.
The native from Kristiansund, Norway, also qualified for the 100-meter hurdles final, automatically qualifying in the prelims with the second-fastest time of her heat with a time of 13.65. Ulseth's 100-meter hurdles time broke her own school record of 13.91 set earlier this season.
Erica Benson took fourth in the heptathlon with 4,884 points. Benson's biggest improvement on day two came in the javelin, where she threw a PR of 100-6 (30.63m). Benson's best heptathlon event finish of Friday was in the long jump, where she recorded the fourth-best long jump mark in the heptathlon on the day with a mark of 17-5 1/2 (5.32m). The Mankato native has been a reliable point scorer for the Hawks in the heptathlon throughout her career, with this being the third time she scored points in the heptathlon at the Summit League Outdoor Championships.
After gaining All-Summit League accolades in the hammer throw on Thursday,
Natalie Mohring followed up that performance with a fifth-place finish in the discus with a mark of 151-8 (46.22m).
Elle Thorson joined Gould and Benson in the heptathlon and finished sixth with a personal-best point total of 4,752 points. That point total improves Thorson's No. 4 mark on the UND top-10 list. Thorson's best event of the day came in the 800 meters, where she put down a PR of over five seconds to cross the finish line in 2:31.02.
Aric David added three points for the UND men in the decathlon, recording a personal-best point total of 6,277 points. David now ranks No. 3 all-time at North Dakota in the decathlon with that point total. The native from Grand Rapids, Minn., smashed his previous best of 103-1 (31.42m) in the discus with a PR toss of 113-4 (34.55m). He also set new personal-bests in the 110-meter hurdles (16.08), javelin (152-5, 46.45m) and pole vault (12-9 1/2, 3.90m).
Ben Hidani put up the final two points of the day for the Fighting Hawk men, placing seventh in the decathlon with a PR of 6,143 points. Hidani's point total now ranks No. 4 in program history in the decathlon. Hidani threw down PR's in the 110m hurdles (16.39) and javelin (125-0, 38.10m). He also led all decathletes in the pole vault with a personal-best height of 14-9 (4.50m), which was competed indoors due to hazardous weather.
Greta McLagan scored the final points for the NoDak women on Friday, joining Keeler in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and placing eighth in 11:44.72. McLagan's finish was a two-spot improvement from where she was projected to finish at the meet.
Mitchel Wangler earned the final qualifying spot in the 110-meter hurdles, running a PR of 14.65 in prelims, good for the No. 7 time in school history.
Mackenzie Severson qualified for the 400-meter hurdles final, running a personal-best time of 1:02.75 to qualify for the finals. That time improved Severson's No. 10 time on the UND top-10 list. She also put down the fifth-fastest time in school history in the 100-meter prelims, falling one-spot shy of qualifying with a PR time of 12.18.
Jory Vasek was the final Hawk to qualify for the finals on Saturday, running a PR time of 49.46 in the prelims of the 400-meter dash.
At the conclusion of day two, the North Dakota women sit third with 63 points, while the UND men remain fourth with 27 points.
With the weather delays and inclement weather expected this evening, the Summit League pushed both sections of the pole vault and the men's discus to Saturday. The final day of the meet is expected to begin with the discus at 10 a.m. and both sections of the pole vault at 11 a.m., followed by field events in their original order with a rolling schedule expected.
Events on the track will commence with the women's 4x100-meter relay at 12:20 p.m., with all running events to take place at their normally scheduled times.
The Fighting Hawks will conclude competition at the Summit League Outdoor Championships on Saturday. Live results will continue to be provided by
Black Squirrel Timing and the meet will be streamed by
The Summit League.