INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The North Dakota track and field team earned a total of nine bids to the NCAA West Preliminary Round, with six Fighting Hawks qualifying for the meet. The NCAA West Regional will take place at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station, Texas, from May 28-31.

Athletes who rank among the top 48 regionally in their respective events earned berths into the NCAA West Preliminary Round, as well as the top 24 relay times.

Kenna Curry earned three bids for North Dakota and will advance to the preliminary round in the hammer throw, shot put and discus. Jadyn Keeler qualified for the meet in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters. Ethan Thomas (shot put), Frida Giersdorff (3,000-meter steeplechase), Jerzie Finstad (400 meters) and Jiri Ceska (800 meters) also received bids in their respective events.

Curry solidified her spot at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the hammer throw at the Summit League Outdoor Championships last week, when she captured the gold medal, earned All-Summit League accolades, broke the school record and shattered the conference meet record with a personal-best toss of 223-1 (68.01m). Her throw broke the program record of Molli Detloff, who set it at 222-11 (67.94m) at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Curry's throw also bettered the conference meet record mark of 217-6 (66.29m), which was set by Maddy Niles of North Dakota State in 2022. Curry's throw ranks No. 8 regionally and No. 11 in the NCAA. She will enter the meet seeded No. 8 in the hammer throw.

The Elk Point, S.D., native will also enter the meet with the No. 25 throw in the shot put and No. 41 mark in the discus regionally. At the USD Tune-Up, Curry won the shot put and broke her own school record with a PR throw of 53-8 1/4 (16.36m). Her previous record was 51-11 1/4 (15.83m), which she set at the Beach Invitational in California in April. Earlier in the meet, she was also victorious in the discus and improved her No. 5 throw in UND history with a personal best of 172-2 (52.48m). Both of her marks in Vermillion that week qualified her for the NCAA Regional. She enters the meet as the No. 24 seed in the shot put and No. 40 in the discus.

Keeler is No. 6 in the NCAA in the 10,000 meters and No. 5 in the NCAA West Region. Her school-record time of 32:06.70 at the Stanford Invitational at the beginning of April qualified her for the meet. Keeler finished fourth in her section of the 10,000 meters and shattered the previous program record of Yonca Kutluk, who set it at 32:57.85 at the 2024 Stanford Invitational. Keeler's time not only made UND history but made waves nationally, as it ranks No. 17 in the NCAA all-time in the event and broke the Canadian U23 national record time. The previous U23 record time nationally by a Canadian was 32:32.61, which was set by Gracelyn Larkin of Ontario at the 2023 Stanford Invitational. Keeler will be the No. 4 seed in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Round.

The Barrie, Ontario, native is also seeded No. 12 in the 5,000 meters and ran the No. 17 time regionally at the Bryan Clay Invitational two weeks after the Stanford Invitational. Her time of 15:33.59 in Azusa qualified her for the meet, where she completely annihilated the 5,000-meter school record in her invitational section and shattered the previous record time of 16:04.26, set by Kutluk on that same track a year ago. Keeler's school-record time was an improvement to her previous outdoor 5,000-meter best by 1:26.09.

Thomas ranks No. 13 in the NCAA West Region in the shot put and qualified for the regional with a throw of 63-7 3/4 (19.40m) at the Triton Invitational in California at the beginning of April. His throw won the elite section crown and obliterated the previous school record toss of 58-10 (17.93m), set by Chris Evenson at the 2021 Mizzou Spring Opener. Thomas enters the meet as the No. 13 seed.

Giersdorff also qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and has the No. 41 time regionally, clocking a time of 10:18.85 at the Bryan Clay Invitational. With that time, Giersdorff broke the school record and took eighth in the open section with a PR time of 10:18.85. She broke the record of Keeler, who set it at 10:28.86 at the 2024 Summit League Outdoor Championships. Geirsdorff enters the meet as the No. 39 seed.

Finstad enters the meet seeded No. 42 in the 400 meters. Her time of 53.57 at the Gary Wilson Invitational at the end of April held up to qualify her for the meet and is the No. 55 time in the NCAA West Region. Her time at Minnesota was a personal best and broke the school record time of 53.96, which was set by Lucy Steinmeyer at the 2021 Summit League Outdoor Championships.

Ceska was the final qualifier for North Dakota and is the No. 48 seed in the 800 meters. His time of 1:48.67 qualified him for the meet and was No. 58 in the West Region. With that time at the Bryan Clay Invitational, he posted a new program record and edged out the previous record time of 1:48.97, which was set by Alec Nelson at the 2023 Kip Janvrin Open.

Athletes who have the best 12 times/marks and the top-12 relay teams at both the NCAA East and West Preliminary Rounds will qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., from June 11-14.

Fighting Hawk Regional Qualifiers (listed by regional seed)
4. Jadyn Keeler, 10,000m, 32:06.70
8. Kenna Curry, Hammer Throw, 223-1 (68.01m)
12. Jadyn Keeler, 5,000m, 15:33.59
13. Ethan Thomas, Shot Put, 63-7 3/4 (19.40m)
24. Kenna Curry, Shot Put, 53-8 1/4 (16.36m)
39. Frida Giersdorff, 3,000m Steeplechase, 10:18.85
40. Kenna Curry, Discus, 172-2 (52.48m)
42. Jerzie Finstad, 400m, 55.57
48. Jiri Ceska, 800m, 1:48.67