FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Luke Labatte was the second North Dakota track and field athlete to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and broke his own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday evening.

Labatte crossed the finish line sixth in his heat in a personal-best time of 8:43.79, breaking his own school record for the fourth time this season. Overall, Labatte finished 15th, three spots shy and less than four seconds short of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

With his finish, Labatte now has the top finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in UND's Division I history at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Labatte came into the meet as the No. 32 seed and finished 17 spots better than where he was projected to finish at the meet.

Natalie Mohring will be the final Fighting Hawk to compete at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, throwing the discus at 1 p.m. (CT) on Saturday.