SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Summit League released the Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday morning, with the North Dakota women picked third and the Fighting Hawk men selected fourth.

The Fighting Hawk women took fourth at the 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championships, while the UND men placed sixth. Yonca Kutluk, Kenna Curry, Luke Labatte and Maguire Petersen were also named Athletes to Watch in the Summit League this season.

Kutluk, the 2024 Track Championship MVP of the Summit League Indoor Championships, will be entering her first outdoor season at North Dakota. This indoor season, Kutluk was a three-time All-Summit League performer and a triple crown winner at the indoor conference championships, winning the mile (4:46.72), 3,000 meters (9:27.20) and 5,000 meters (16:50.44). She broke the school record in the mile at the Summit League Indoor Championships with her time of 4:46.72 and program records during the regular season in the 3,000 meters (9:22.35), 5,000 meters (16:07.70) and as part of the distance medley relay team (11:40.44).

During the 2023 cross country season, Kutluk was named the 2023 Summit League Cross Country Athlete of the Year after finishing 88th at the NCAA Championships with a 6K time of 20:35.5, giving her the sixth-best finish at the meet in conference history. She also became the first UND runner on the women's side to compete at a national championship in UND's Division I history. She punched her ticket to the cross country national championship with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional, running a 6K time of 20:36.4. With her finish at the regional, she became the first member of the women's team to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors since 2013. Prior to the NCAA Regional, Kutluk only ran in two meets as a Fighting Hawk and made headlines in the 6K at the Summit League Championships, winning the individual title with a time of 20:56.01. With the win, she not only earned first team All-Summit League status, but also became the first cross country Summit League champion on the women's side and beat the rest of the field by over 10 seconds at the conference meet, later being named the Summit League Championship MVP.

Curry, a qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the weight throw this season, earned two bids to the NCAA West Preliminary Round last outdoor season and took 39th in the hammer throw (181-5, 55.30m) and 46th in the shot put (45-2 1/4, 13.77m). At the 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championships, Curry earned all-conference honors twice, highlighted by her winning the gold medal in the shot put and breaking the school record in the process with a personal-best throw of 51-9 1/4 (15.78m). Less than 24 hours later at the conference championships, she earned the bronze medal in the hammer throw with a PR mark of 192-2 (58.57m), moving her up to No. 4 in UND history. During the regular season, she also recorded the No. 7 mark in school history in the discus with a throw of 158-10 (48.43m) at the Beach Invitational.

This indoor season, Curry qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and will take part in the weight throw on Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT). She enters the National Championship meet as the No. 14 seed in the weight throw and qualified for the meet with the No. 2 throw in program history (71-6 1/4, 21.80m) at the SDSU Indoor Classic earlier this season. By qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Curry is just the third North Dakota student-athlete in UND's Division I history to qualify for the meet. At the Summit League Indoor Championships, Curry shined and was a two-time All-Summit League performer. She won the gold medal in the weight throw with a toss of 69-2 (21.08m) for the first indoor conference title of her career. She also gained the silver medal at the conference meet in the shot put with a toss of 50-6 (15.39m). Her shot put throw tied her PR mark, which set the school record at the UND Open earlier this season. At the conclusion of the conference championships, Curry was named the Field Championship MVP.

Labatte qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last outdoor season and took 23rd with a time of 8:46.02. He remains the only member of the UND steeple crew in school history to compete in the event at a regional meet. He gained All-Summit League honors and the gold medal in the steeplechase at the Summit League Outdoor Championships with a time of 8:49.89, breaking the conference meet record of 8:56.95 in the process. He also claimed the steeplechase crown at the conference meet in 2022. During the 2023 regular season, Labatte posted school records in the 5,000 meters (14:17.47), 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:41.75) and had the No. 2 time in program history in the 1,500 meters (3:49.19).

This indoor season, Labatte earned all-conference accolades at the Summit League Indoor Championships, finishing with the bronze medal in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:20.87. He also scored four points at the meet in the 5,000 meters, placing fifth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:28.91. He currently owns school records in the mile (4:06.11), 3,000 meters (8:08.54), 5,000 meters (14:08.71) and as a member of the DMR team (10:03.97).

During the 2023 cross country season, Labatte was one spot shy of USTFCCCA All-Region accolades at the NCAA Midwest Regional, taking 26th with a 10K time of 31:21.6, giving him the best individual finish on the men's side at the meet in school history. He not only paced the UND men in every meet during the cross country season, but also gained first team All-Summit League honors with a runner-up finish at the Summit League Championships with an 8K time of 24:40.07. With his finish at the conference championships, he recorded the second-best individual finish on the men's side in program history.

Petersen will be entering his second outdoor season at North Dakota after transferring from St. John's in Minnesota. Last season, he recorded the No. 6 clearance in school history in the high jump with a leap of 6-4 1/4 (1.94m) at the Ron Masanz Classic. Prior to UND, he was fifth in the decathlon (6,932 points) at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships and eighth in the high jump (6-5 1/2, 1.97m) at the 2021 NCAA Division III Championships.

This indoor season, Petersen had a phenomenal showing in the heptathlon at the Summit League Championships and won the gold medal with a PR total of 5,421 points. His point total broke the school record and helped him become the first Summit League indoor champion in the heptathlon in UND history. He set PRs in five of the seven heptathlon events and had the top marks in the long jump (22-10 3/4, 6.98m), shot put (47-2 1/4, 14.38m) and high jump (6-6 1/4, 1.99m), which allowed him to hold the top spot after the second event (long jump) and lead the rest of the way. Petersen's PR in the long jump currently sits No. 9 in program history.

North Dakota will open its outdoor season this weekend, competing at the Ben Brown Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., on Friday and Saturday.

2024 SUMMIT LEAGUE MEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD PRESEASON POLL

	Team	Score (1st place votes)
1.	North Dakota State	35 (5)
2.	South Dakota	30 (1)
3.	South Dakota State	27 (1)
4.	North Dakota	20
5.	St. Thomas	14
6.	Kansas City	13
7.	Oral Roberts	8

2024 SUMMIT LEAGUE WOMEN'S OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD PRESEASON POLL

	Team	Score (1st place votes)
1.	North Dakota State	48 (6)
2.	South Dakota	43 (2)
3.	North Dakota	35
4.	South Dakota State	32
5.	Kansas City	25
6.	St. Thomas	18
7.	Omaha	14
8.	Oral Roberts	9

 
For more information on North Dakota track & field, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDtrackfieldXC.