GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota will visit Texas A&M for the Arturo Barrios Invitational this Friday morning. The men's 8K will begin the meet at 8:30 p.m. and will be trailed by the women's 6K at 9:15 a.m.

Live results of the meet will be provided by Flash Results.

Both Teams Remain Ranked in USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings
In the latest USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings, both Fighting Hawk teams are ranked.

The North Dakota continues to hold steady at No. 9. They are the top team from the Summit League in the poll and appear ahead of the Power Four schools of Kansas State, Illinois and Iowa.

UND's men also remain in the poll and are No. 14. The men's team is the second-best team from the conference in the poll, trailing only South Dakota State (No. 9).
 
Last Time Out
UND ran at the Jimmie Invitational in Jamestown two weeks ago and swept all the titles of the meet. The NoDak men won the 8K crown with 22 points, while the Fighting Hawk women captured the 6K title with 24 points. Louis-Lys Fanucchi was victorious in the 8K and Jadyn Keeler ran away with the 6K title.

For the fourth time of the season, Keeler was crowned an individual champion. She won the 6K title with a personal-best time of 19:54.9. That time was a PR of over 30 seconds and she crossed the finish line over a minute faster than the rest of the competition.

Shewaye Johnson placed third in the 6K with a time of 21:15.9. Marie-Louise Jorgensen earned a PR of over a minute and 20 seconds and was right behind Johnson, taking fourth in 21:23.0. Frida Giersdorff placed seventh in 21:52.3, while Olivia Correale crossed the finish line ninth and was the final point scorer for the Hawks with a time of 22:11.0.

Fanucchi captured the 8K title with a time of 24:41.8, while Matej Hrebacka was the runner-up in 24:47.1. Ethan Adams was also in the top five and placed fourth, clocking a PR of over a minute and finishing in 24:59.4. Aleksa Milanovic (7th, 25:05.6) and Jonas Weschle (8th, 25:05.9) also finished in the top-10 and were the final point scorers for the Hawks.

National Honors
M-F Athletic NCAA Division I Women's National Athlete of the Week
- Jadyn Keeler – Women's Cross Country (Sept. 22)

Summit League Accolades
Kwik Star Peak Performer of the Week
- Jadyn Keeler – Women's Cross Country (Sept. 9, Sept. 23, Oct. 7)

Last Year at Arturo Barrios
North Dakota competed at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on the campus of Texas A&M and beat out five Power 4 teams. The UND men finished 21st out of 38 teams with 563 points in the 8K, while the Fighting Hawk women were 21st out of 41 teams with 617 points in the 6K.

In the men's 8K, all of the point scorers for UND posted PRs and the Fighting Hawks beat out the Power 4 schools of Houston, Baylor and Arizona State. Ian Busche led the way for UND and took 78th with a time of 23:58.7. Matej Hrebacka (81st, 24:00.0) and Aleksa Milanovic (120th, 24:20.1) were the second and third Hawks to cross the finish line. Louis-Lys Fanucchi (147th) and Jonas Weschle (181st) were also in the top-200 and were the final point scorers for North Dakota with times of 24:32.1 and 24:45.8, respectively.

All of the point scorers for the Fighting Hawk women also recorded personal-bests and the team finished quicker than the Power 4 schools of Houston and Arizona State. Eliana Malnourie was the top finisher for NoDak with a time of 20:20.1 to take 45th. Naja Weiler was also in the top-100 and finished 67th with a time of 20:41.5. Frida Giersdorff (21:46.7) and Olivia Correale (21:56.9) were in the top-200 and took 176th and 195th, respectively. Gabrielle Wahl was the final Hawk to score points and was 213th in 22:07.1.

Hawks to Watch
At the beginning of the season, the Summit League announced the annual preseason poll, along with the names of four UND student-athletes who were named Athletes to Watch in the Summit League this season. Both NoDak teams were tabbed third in the preseason poll. The Hawks named Athletes to Watch are Jadyn Keeler, Shewaye Johnson, Ian Busche and Matej Hrebacka.

Keeler redshirted last cross country season but previously earned Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2023 and First Team All-Summit League accolades in 2022. This August, Keeler made headlines at the Jr. Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, where she ran for her home nation of Canada and was the gold medalist in the 10,000 meters (34:16.61) and silver medalist in the 5,000 meters (15:56.77).

Johnson, a transfer from Texas A&M, finished 22nd in the 6K with a time of 20:08.4 at the NCAA Division I South Central Regional Championships last season. She also finished 67th in the 6K at the SEC Cross Country Championships in 20:37.0. In 2023, she was a national qualifier for the NCAA Championships, where she took 231st in the 6K with a time of 22:07.5.

Busche ran a time of 26:06.0 at the Summit League Championships to finish 39th last season. He also clocked PR times of 23:58.7 in the 8K at the Arturo Barrios Invitational and 17:52.8 in the 6K at the Dragon Twilight Invitational.

Hrebacka garnered Second Team All-Summit League status with an eighth-place finish in the 8K in 24:50.37 last season. His finish gave him the fourth-best finish by a UND runner at the meet in school history. He also paced the UND men at the NCAA Midwest Regional and took 83rd, clocking a time of 31:04.96.

On Tap
North Dakota will turn its attention to the Summit League Championships in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, Nov. 1.