GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships ended in high fashion for the Fighting Hawks as UND collected seven medals and four individual honors to round out competition inside the Fritz D. Pollard Jr. Athletic Center on Saturday.
North Dakota earned three gold, two silver and two bronze medals on the weekend before the conclusion of the meet presented three Fighting Hawks with individual honors.
Katherine Rogers was named the Women's Newcomer of the Year,
Jadyn Keeler was tabbed the Women's Track MVP and
Louis-Lys Fanucchi earned Men's Track MVP honors at the end of the meet, with awards given based on athlete performances/scoring. The final recognition was given to
Lucas Schweigert, who was named the men's Scholar of the Championship for his academic achievement.
When it came to medaling for the Hawks, Keeler led another UND event sweep, this time in the women's mile run. She clocked a 4:39.69 for the top spot on the podium as
Olivia Correale took second in 4:44.22 for a new personal best and the second-best time in school history. Rounding out the all-Nouth Dakota podium was
Katherine Rogers, who took bronze in a time of 4:46/29, which now marks a new PR and sits third all-time.
Keeler completed her triple crown—added in with Friday's 3000-meter win—with a gold finish in the women's 5000-meter run. UND placed four in the top five of the event, but Keeler led it all. She dominated the race from start to finish and shattered her own meet record with a time of 15:56.90, finishing more than 40 seconds ahead of the next finisher.
Shewaye Johnson took silver for the Fighting Hawks in 16:37.19 while
Frida Giersdorff (16:45.36, PR, fifth all-time) was fourth and Rogers (16:45.88, PR, sixth all-time) came fifth.
Fanucchi earned his first Summit League Championship title in the men's mile, clocking a 4:05.51 to cross the finish line first and claim the top spot on the podium.
Kajsa Cabanas Andersson added a bronze medal to her weekend after tallying a throw of 46-6 3/4 (14.19m) for a new PR, the ninth-best mark in school history and a third-place finish.
Julia Matthews and
Haidyn Skeen also joined her in the finals, taking fifth (45-11 1/4, 14.00m) and eighth (42-11 3/4, 13.10m), respectively.
Additional finishes included
Anya Williams, who booked a ticket to the women's triple jump finals and finished seventh overall with her mark of 37-11 1/2 (11.57m). Two Fighting Hawks also finished in scoring position of the women's high jump as Elliotte Becker took fifth (5-5 3/4, 1.67m) and Williams tied for sixth (5-3 3/4, 1.62m).
Marta Marksa raced her way into fifth place of the women's 60-meter hurdle finals with her time of 8.72 as
Ava Phrakonkham finished eighth in the 200-meter dash finals with her clocking of 25.07.
Gabriella Ruggeri also competed in Saturday's event finals, taking fifth overall in the women's 800-meter run with her time of 2:10.28, which marks a new PR and the third-best time in UND history.
Fanucchi led UND in the men's 5000-meter run, taking fourth in 14:19.69 and was followed close behind by
Jonas Weschle (14:20.19, PR, fourth all-time) and
Ian Busche (14:23.93, PR, fifth all-time), who finished fifth and eighth, respectively.
Sawyer Nelson earned a big to the men's triple jump finals and finished in eighth place with his mark of 46-8 1/4 (14/23m) while over in the throw,
Tyler Thoreson represented UND in the men's shot put finals and took ninth overall with his throw of 53-3 3/4 (16.25m).
The day concluded with the relays that saw the team of Marksa, Ruggeri,
Gretchen Raney and Kim Hitchen clock a 3:49.16 for fifth place and the fourth-fastest time in UND history. On the men's half of the event, Gruz Megazzini, Wyat Greuneich,
Dash Ohlsen and
Josh Neil teamed up to take sixth with a time of 3:17.18, the third-best time in school history.
Final scores saw the women's team finish third with 141.5 points behind North Dakota State (177) and South Dakota (143.5). The men took seventh with 40 points as North Dakota State (191.5) won and South Dakota (145) was runner-up.
Competition at the Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships will conclude on Saturday following another full day of action that is set to begin at 9:30 a.m.
Post-Meet Notes
- North Dakota secured seven medals on day two of competition
- Jadyn Keeler collected a triple crown for 30 points and Women's Track MVP honors
- Katherine Rogers was named the Women's Newcomer of the Year
- Louis-Lys Fanucchi claimed the title of Men's Track MVP
- Lucas Schweigert was honored as the men's Scholar of the Championship
- NoDak totaled three golds, two silvers, and two bronze medals
- Jadyn Keeler and Louis-Lys Fanucchi combined to win the three total golds for UND
- The women finished in third place as the men took seventh
For more information on North Dakota track and field, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media
@UNDtrackfieldXC.