SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Following a historical outdoor season, Luke Labatte was named the Summit League Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year, the league offices announced Thursday.

Labatte earned Second Team All-America status at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing 16th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:41.70. By running at the national meet, Labatte became the first student-athlete in UND's Division I history on the men's side to compete at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He was also the first member of North Dakota's steeple crew to advance to the national championship meet in UND's Division I history.

The Inver Grove Heights, Minn., native qualified for the NCAA Championships by finishing with the seventh-fastest time (8:44.01) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, which gave him the best finish at the meet by a member of the UND steeple crew in program history.

Labatte qualified for the NCAA West Regional with a time of 8:38.25 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, a time which ranked No. 18 in the NCAA at the end of the regular season. His time at Azusa also broke his own school record, which he previously set at 8:40.76 at the Stanford Invitational earlier in the season.

At the Summit League Outdoor Championships, Labatte was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the Championships after posting a pair of All-Summit League performances. He opened the meet in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and won the gold medal with a time of 8:50.89. His steeplechase race was not close, with him winning the title by over eight seconds. With the win, he successfully defended his titles from the 2022 and 2023 Summit League Championships and became the first steeplechase runner in the conference to become a three-time champion at the league meet since Jeff Mettler of South Dakota from 2012-14. On the final day of the conference championships, Labatte also claimed the bronze medal in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:29.10.

This season alone, Labatte rewrote the UND record book with new school records in both the 1,500 meters (3:47.45) and 3,000-meter steeplechase (8:38.25). He also posted the second-fastest time (14:10.09) in the 5,000 meters in UND history.

Labatte has now earned the honor twice, also being named the Summit League Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2022.

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