GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The North Dakota cross country teams will return to action this Friday for the SDSU Classic at the Edgebrook Golf Course in Brookings. The women's 5K race is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., followed by the men's 8K.

Live results of both races will be provided by Dakota Timing.

Last Time Out
UND opened the season hosting the Ron Pynn Classic last week and claimed both team titles at the Ray Richards Golf Course. The men's team finished with 15 points, while the NoDak women had 25 points.

In the men's competition, Luke Labatte won the individual title with a 6K time of 18:27.1. Justin Jelaca was the runner-up with a time of 18:21.8. Aleksa Milanovic took third in 18:53.9. Eric Weiss was right behind Milanovic and was fourth with a PR time of 19:00.6, beating his previous best by over 12 seconds. Jamie Burns, competing in his first meet as a Fighting Hawk, rounded out the top five for UND and placed fifth with a time of 19:12.2.

Six NoDak runners also competed as unattached athletes in the men's race. The unattached team was led by Cian Nagle finishing 11th in 20:20.1.

Eliana Malnourie led the Fighting Hawks in the women's 5K, taking third with a time of 18:34.2. A slew of North Dakota runners were right behind her, with the Hawks taking spots three through seven in the race. Conny Wohlfahrt placed fourth in 18:56.1, while freshman Frida Giersdorff finished fifth, clocking a time of 19:14.6. Elle Sondag ran a PR of over 50 seconds and claimed sixth in 19:15.9, while Brenna Barnick was next and took seventh in 19:42.9. Barnick's time was a personal-best by more than a half a minute.

Seven Fighting Hawks also ran unattached in the women's 5K, highlighted by true freshman Yonca Kutluk winning the individual crown in a time of 17:34.0. Jadyn Keeler was the runner-up and also raced unattached, finishing in 18:01.8.

Hawks to Watch
At the beginning of the season, the Summit League announced the annual preseason poll, along with the names of four NoDak student-athletes who were named Athletes to Watch in the Summit League. The Fighting Hawks were tabbed third in both sections, while the North Dakota women received one first-place vote. The Hawks named Athletes to Watch were Luke Labatte, Jadyn Keeler, Conny Wohlfahrt and Justin Jelaca.

Labatte has earned All-Summit League status three times in his career. He was a second team all-conference performer (2019, 2020-21), before gaining first team accolades last season. In 2022, Labatte placed third at the Summit League Championships with an 8K personal-best time of 23:06.9. His time helped UND place fourth at the conference championships. He also led the Hawks at the 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional with a 10K PR of 30:29.3 to take 44th. Labatte was one of the top two runners to cross the finish line in every meet last season. At the end of the year, he claimed Academic All-Summit League honors.

Keeler garnered First Team All-Summit League accolades for the first time of her career in 2022, placing seventh at the Summit League Championships with a 6K PR time of 20:34.1. Her time helped the Hawks finish third as a team at the conference meet. She led UND in every meet during the season and capped the year at the NCAA Midwest Regional, taking 63rd in the 6K with a time of 21:20.5. Keeler is also a standout in the classroom and picked up Academic All-Summit League honors at the end of the season. In 2021, she finished just shy of All-Summit League accolades, taking 16th at the conference meet with a 6K time of 22:19.4.

Wohlfahrt just missed out on Second Team All-Summit League status in 2022, finishing 16th with a 6K personal-best time of 21:03.2 at the Summit League Championships. Her time helped the Fighting Hawks finish third at the conference meet. She was also a consistent top-three finisher for UND last season. In the 2020-21 season, Wohlfahrt earned Second Team All-Summit League status at the conference meet, clocking a 6K time of 22:46.14 to finish 11th.

Jelaca was consistently a top-five runner for UND at each meet in 2022, highlighted by a 25th-place finish at the Summit League Championships with an 8K PR of 24:16.7. His time helped UND finish fourth in the team race at the conference meet. He also posted a 10K personal-best time of 31:20.0 at the 2022 NCAA Midwest Regional.

On Tap
North Dakota will have the next two weekends off before visiting Bismarck for the Marauder Classic on Friday, Sept. 29.