AZUSA, Calif./LONG BEACH, Calif. – North Dakota split up for two meets on the West Coast on Thursday, with majority of the team competing in the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at Long Beach, while combined events athletes and the steeple squad commenced competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa. Seven Fighting Hawks climbed the UND top-10 list at the meets.

In Long Beach, Eric Weiss picked up the first event title for UND of the week, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase crown with a personal-best time of 9:21.83. That time not only moved him up to No. 4 in school history in the event, but also hit the USATF junior standard, which qualifies him for the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., this July.

A little over an hour before that, Ethan Johnson was the first Fighting Hawk to take the track and he finished third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:32.39.

Jerzie Finstad was the final UND runner to place at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, taking seventh in the 400 meters with a time of 56.80. Earlier in the meet, Finstad moved up the UND top-10 list in the 200 meters and is now No. 9 in UND history with a PR time of 25.15.

Natalie Mohring also climbed the UND top-10 list in the hammer throw, moving up to No. 4 in school history with a personal-best toss of 188-11 (57.60m).

Conny Wohlfahrt and Greta McLagan both improved their marks on the UND top-10 list in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational late Thursday night. Wohlfahrt clocked the third-fastest steeplechase time in school history with a personal-best time of 10:52.59. In the heat before that, McLagan posted a PR time of 11:20.94 to improve her No. 7 mark in program history.

Earlier in the day, four Fighting Hawks participated in combined events in Azusa. With the large number of multi eventers competing at the Bryan Clay Invitational, student-athletes were split into groups in competed in various clusters throughout the day. Malene Kollberg and Elle Thorson were the first Fighting Hawks to see action, both competing in section three of the heptathlon. Elise Ulseth drew section one and was the final heptathlete to compete for UND on Thursday evening. On the men's side, Maguire Petersen drew section three and competed in the late afternoon/early evening group.

Kollberg was impressive in section three of the heptathlon and will enter day two in fifth place with 2,941 points. Her most impressive event of the day was her first, racking up an event-high 912 points with the fourth-fastest time of her section in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.48, which also moved her into a tie for No. 5 on the UND top-10 list. Kollberg's biggest improvement came in the final event of the day, the 200 meters, where she set a personal-best time of 25.98, beating her previous best of 26.26.

Thorson will enter day the final three events of the heptathlon with 2,833 points, which puts her 14th in section three. Her section is tightly contested, with her trailing eighth place by only 78 points. Thorson's most productive event was the 200 meters, where she racked up a day-high 823 points and put down the eighth-fastest time of the group with a time of 25.71.

Petersen shined throughout the day in section three of the decathlon and sits third at the half-way point with 3,668 points. Only 72 points currently separate him and Jack Elder of Butler, who leads the group with 3,740 points. Petersen's best event was the high jump, where he not only finished with the top jump after clearing 6-3 1/2 (1.92m), but also moved into the UND top-10 list at No. 6 in the event. Petersen also put down the second-best heptathlon shot put mark of the day with a toss of 42-4 3/4 (12.92m).

In section one of the heptathlon, Ulseth was the final combined events athlete for UND to see action on Thursday and will head into Friday in sixth place with 3,244 points. Her best event based on points was the 100-meter hurdles, where she picked up her first 961 points with a time of 14.12. Ulseth also shared the top spot in the high jump in her group with a clearance of 5-5 3/4 (1.67m).

North Dakota will resume competition at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Friday, while a handful of the UND throwers will remain in Long Beach to begin competition at the Beach Invitational. Live results for all meets can be found on FightingHawks.com.