GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Two school records fell, North Dakota won four event titles and posted 16 improvements to the UND top-10 list at the UND Open on Saturday. In the two-day meet, UND finished with six event titles and posted 23 marks to the UND top-10 list.

Jerzie Finstad was the first Fighting Hawk to break a program record on Saturday, finishing as the runner-up in the women's 300 meters with a time of 39.75. Her time broke the three-decade old record of Liesa Swenson, set at Bemidji State in 1993 with a time of 41.25.

Four other Hawks joined Finstad in the 300 meters and all placed, while three of them put additional marks on the UND top-10 list. Aleece Durbin was third in 41.59 with the No. 3 time in school history, trailed by Mackenzie Severson finishing fourth in a time of 42.45 to move up to No. 6 all-time. Maggie Dervis was next in fifth (42.49), good for the No. 7 time in the event all-time at UND. Carley Johnson was the final UND runner to cross the finish line and claimed seventh place with a time of 44.32.

In the following event, Jesse Middendorf posted a school-record time of 1:18.72 in the 600 meters to take second. His time beat the previous record of 1:19.16 set by Jesse Fenstermacher at North Dakota State in 2015.

In the men's 300 meters, Jory Vasek won the crown in a time of 35.07, running the second-fastest time in school history. He was less than a second from breaking the record. Including Vasek, a total of five Hawks placed in the event. Max Baker took fifth and moved up to No. 8 on the UND top-10 list with at time of 36.16, followed by Josh Beck in sixth at 36.35 to move into No. 9 on the performance list. Alex Kaffine and Maguire Petersen were seventh (36.59) and eighth (37.01), respectively.

Later in the meet, the 4x400-meter team of Baker, Kaffine, Vasek and Beck finished as the runners-up with a time of 3:25.72.

The UND distance squad showed out in the mile events. Conny Wohlfahrt took the crown in the women's race with a time of 5:01.54. Eliana Malnourie was third with a PR of 5:04.73, beating her previous best by over 24 seconds. Ellyssa Peterson, running unattached, was fourth in 5:05.24. Greta McLagan also clocked a personal-best time of 5:22.57 to take eighth.

North Dakota cleaned up in the 3,000 meters. Unattached student-athletes Jadyn Keeler and Ellyssa Peterson took the first two spots in times of 9:58.79 and 10.08.91, respectively. McKenzie Burian was fourth with a time of 10:23.29.

The Hawks posted a trio of new marks to the UND top-10 list in the men's mile, led by Alec Nelson finishing third with a personal-best time of 4:13.51, good for No. 7 on the UND top-10 list. Justin Jelaca was right behind him and finished fourth in 4:14.95 to move up to No. 8 on the list. Nelson Ruto took fifth, running a time of 4:17.02 and moving into No. 9 on the performance list. Ian Busche was the final UND runner to place in the event and was eighth in 4:21.91.

Durbin claimed fifth in both the 60 meters (7.94) and 60-meter hurdles (9.17). Severson joined her in both races and took seventh in the 60 meters (8.08) and eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.34). In the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles, Severson ran a PR time of 9.09 and improved her No. 10 time on the UND top-10 list. Johnson was also in the 60-meter final and was sixth with a time of 8.07, while Hinewai Knowles claimed sixth place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.20.

Austin Wolf and Ashley Conneran paced the Hawks in the high jump. Wolf tied for first place on the men's side with a clearance of 6-6 1/4 (1.99m), while Conneran was third in the women's high jump with a height of 5-1 3/4 (1.57m). Wolf also competed in the triple jump later on and was third with a leap of 43-1 (13.14m).

Malene Kollberg impressed in the women's long jump with a personal-best distance of 19-1 1/4 (5.82m) to finish as the runner-up. That jump currently ranks No. 2 in school history. Elle Thorson was also in the event and finished seventh with a PR of 17-8 (5.38m). On the men's side, Trenton Hanseder took fourth with a PR distance of 21-10 (6.65m).

The UND throwers continued to uphold their reputation as one of the most consistent groups in the league, with Kenna Curry winning the weight throw title with a personal-best throw of 60-5 3/4 (18.43m), a throw which improved her No. 6 mark on the UND top-10 list. Natalie Mohring was the runner-up with a toss of 59-8 1/2 (18.20m).

Eve Goldstein was also fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 56-6 3/4 (17.24m) and later took fourth in the shot put with a toss of 45-5 (13.84m). Allison Lardy finished fifth in the weight throw with a distance of 56-4 (17.17m) and sixth in the shot put with a toss of 45-2 1/4 (13.77m).

The heptathletes kicked off the meet and made noise, led by Ben Hidani finishing as the runner-up with a personal-best point total of 4,820. That point total moves him up to No. 2 on the UND top-10 list. Hidani's best event was the pole vault, where he posted the best height at 14-9 (4.50m). He finished with a total of four new PR's in the seven events.

Cruz Megazzini placed fourth in the heptathlon with 4,598 points, moving him into No. 4 in school history in the event. Megazzini started the day with a personal-best time of 9.50 in the 60-meter hurdles and then concluded the day with the best 1,000-meter time of the group at 2:47.93.

North Dakota will visit North Dakota State on Friday and Saturday for the Bison Open.

Post-Meet Notes
* The Fighting Hawk women won the meet with 167 points, defeating the runner-up Bison, who finished with 160.5 points.
* The UND men were the runners-up with 100 points, trailing the NDSU men (188 points).
* Jerzie Finstad (300 meters) and Jesse Middendorf (600 meters) broke school records at the UND Open.
* The Fighting Hawks have now set five new school records in the 2022-23 indoor season.
* Jory Vasek (300 meters), Conny Wohlfahrt (mile), Kenna Curry (weight throw) and Austin Wolf (high jump) all claimed individual event titles on Saturday.
* Malene Kollberg (pentathlon) and Kenna Curry (discus) won individual titles at the meet on Friday.
* Jadyn Keeler and Ellyssa Peterson, both competing unattached, took the first two spots of the women's 3,000 meters in times of 9:58.79 and 10:08.91, respectively. Peterson also ran unattached in the mile and took fourth with a time of 5:05.24.
* 23 improvements were posted to the UND top-10 list at the UND open, with 16 of those improvements coming on Saturday.