ST. PAUL, Minn. – Jadyn Keeler and Luke Labatte both won gold medals in their sections of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Summit League Outdoor Championships on Friday. In total, North Dakota added eight medals to its medal count and posted eight improvements to the UND top-10 list.

Keeler was victorious in the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday night and won the gold medal in a time of 10:28.86. With the win, she not only earned All-Summit League honors but also broke her own school record in the process, breaking her record of 10:35.60, which she set at the Stanford Invitational earlier this season. If the season ended tonight, her time would currently qualify her for the NCAA West Preliminary Round with the No. 42 time in the West Region.

Teammate Frida Giersdorff was the runner-up in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:29.78. Her time improved her No. 2 mark on the UND top-10 list and she came less than a second shy from stealing the title from Keeler in the final 60 meters. If the season ended today, she would also qualify for the NCAA West Preliminary Round with the No. 44 time in the region.

Following the fireworks of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Labatte took the track in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase and claimed the crown in 8:50.89. His race was not close, with him winning by over eight seconds. With the win, Labatte successfully defended his titles from the 2022 and 2023 Summit League Outdoor Championships and became the first steeplechase runner to become a three-time steeplechase champion at the meet since Jeff Mettler of South Dakota did it from 2012-14.

Malene Kollberg earned All-Summit League honors in the heptathlon and was the runner-up with 5,167 points. She piled up four top-three finishes in the seven events and had a personal-best in the shot put (35-7 1/4, 10.85m). She entered the day in second with 3,146 points and earned a day-high event total of 750 points in the long jump with a leap of 18-7 1/4 (5.67m). Her long jump mark was the second-best mark of the event, and she was third in the javelin with a throw of 109-4 (33.32m). Kollberg's final 731 points of the heptathlon came in the 800 meters, where she was fourth in a time of 2:26.97.

Kenna Curry gained All-Summit League status for the second time of the meet, finishing as the runner-up in the shot put with a toss of 50-4 (15.34m). On Thursday, she was third in the hammer throw with a distance of 183-9 (56.02m).

Tiffanie Magnusson came away with All-Summit League accolades in the heptathlon, placing third with a personal-best point total of 5,065 points. Her point total moved her up to No. 4 in school history. Her best events of the competition were in the high jump (5-6 1/2, 1.69m) and long jump (19-3 1/4, 5.87m), which were events she posted the top marks in. Her high jump height is also No. 9 in school history. Magnusson's long jump finish gave her a day-high event total of 810 points. She also recorded the third-best time in the 800 meters (2:26.25) and had a javelin throw of 86-6 (26.38m).

Friday evening, Magnusson also picked up All-Summit League status in the long jump. She finished third with a personal-best leap of 19-6 1/4 (5.95m), which improved her No. 3 jump on the UND top-10 list.

James Weninger also became an All-Summit League performer for the first time in his collegiate career, finishing with the bronze medal in the high jump with a PR clearance of 6-7 1/2 (2.02m). His personal best improved his No. 7 height on the UND top-10 list and was a three-spot improvement from where he was projected to finish coming into the meet.

Eucabeth Kivikangas placed fourth in the heptathlon with a personal-best total of 4,950 points, moving her up to No. 6 in program history. She finished one spot better than where she was projected to finish coming into the meet. Kivikangas had PRs in four of the seven heptathlon events, including new personal bests in both the long jump (17-11, 5.46m) and javelin (128-1, 39.05m) to begin competition on Friday. She finished with the top marks in the javelin and shot put (40-2 3/4, 12.26m). Kivikangas picked up a day-high event total of 694 points in the 800 meters with a time of 2:29.92 to conclude the heptathlon.

Eve Goldstein was just short of medal contention in the shot put and placed fourth with a throw of 47-4 1/2 (14.44m).

Elle Thorson finished sixth in the heptathlon with 4,716 points. She had a PR throw of 36-5 (11.10m) in the shot put on Thursday and entered the day with 2,953 points. Thorson recorded a day-high event total of 634 points in the long jump with a leap of 17-3 1/2 (5.27m) to begin competition on Friday. She concluded the heptathlon with a throw of 104-0 (31.71m) in the javelin and had a time of 2:35.99 in the 800 meters. 

Justin Jelaca finished sixth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:16.26.

Elijah Beach added a point to the point total for the North Dakota men, finishing eighth in the shot put with a toss of 46-3 1/2 (14.11m).

Jenna Koppelsloen finished just outside scoring territory in the heptathlon and was 10th with 4,212 points. Her best event of the competition was the javelin, where she finished sixth with a throw of 103-1 (31.44m). She also received a day-high event total of 661 points in the 800 meters with a time of 2:32.57 and opened the day in the long jump with a leap 15-3 1/4 (4.65m).

In the preliminary rounds of the 800 meters, Justice Dick put down the fastest time of qualifying with a personal-best time of 1:51.22, which moved him up to No. 6 in school history. Jesse Middendorf also automatically qualified in his heat with a time of 1:51.70, while Alec Nelson earned the final qualifying spot in a time of 1:52.01.

Justina Esangbedo was just shy of qualifying for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles but clocked the fifth-fastest time in school history with a PR time of 14.33.

Going into the final day of competition, the UND women are second with 77.5 points, while the Fighting Hawk men sit fifth with 26 points.

North Dakota will conclude competition at the Summit League Outdoor Championships on Saturday, with field events beginning at 11 a.m. and action on the track starting at 1 p.m. All events on Saturday will be finals. Live results from the Summit League Outdoor Championships will continue be provided by Hero's Timing. Portions of the meet will also be streamed on The Summit League Network.