North Dakota Dominates for 12 Event Wins at Cobber Open

5/2/2026 8:30:00 PM | By: Sydney Smith, FightingHawks.com

MOORHEAD, Minn. – North Dakota track and field made the most of its Saturday appearance the Cobber Open, putting on a shimmering all-around performance with 48 total top-five finishes and 12 event wins throughout the day.

It all began over in the field events, kicking off in the women's hammer throw. Cailey Moton tallied the first event crown of the day with her throw of 194-5 (59.27m) to notch a new personal best, improve her current No. 5 spot on the UND all-time list and re-write her current No. 3 spot in the conference so far this season. Julia Matthews followed with a runner-up showing off a 191-2 (58.27m) throw that also gives her a new PR, the sixth spot on the all-time lists and fourth in the conference. Kaylynn Red Tomahawk followed in fourth (182-2, 55.52m, PR, seventh in the league) and Haidyn Skeen took fifth (160-3, 48.84) to round out the top-five finishers.

Domination continued into the men's half of the event where another event crown was collected. Carter Byron topped the field with his throw of 179-4 (54.67m) as Lucas Schweigert took third with his PR of 169-6 (51.66m, eighth in the Summit League this season) and Boaz Raderschadt broke into the top-five with a mark of 168-3 (51.30m)

Schweigert also represented North Dakota in the men's discus throw finals with his mark of 135-6 (41.31m) for fifth place overall while in the women's portion of the event, Ilaria Villa and Skeen reached the finals, placing second (149-2, 45.48m) and sixth (129-3, 39.40m), respectively.

In the shot put, Matthews clinched yet another runner-up finished off a throw of 46-2 1/2 (14.08m) in women's competition. Skeen followed in third place with a new personal best of 45-11 3/4 (14.01m) that now ranks 10^th in UND history and sixth in the conference this season while Kajsa Cabanas Andersson took fifth with a 44-3 1/4 (13.49m). In the men's half of the event, Raderschadt took third place overall in the event finals after a throw of 51-0 1/4 (15.55m).

Tiffanie Magnusson won the women's high jump with her mark of 5-4 1/4 (1.63m) as Ellie Becker took fourth with a 5-1 3/4 (1.57m). Wyatt Genelin collected a runner-up finish in the men's event with his mark of 6-1 1/2 (1.87m).

In the women's pole vault, a trio of Fighting Hawks represented UND with two top-five finishers. Emma Briggs claimed third place off a bar of 11-6 1/2 (3.52m) and Emily Ash tied for fourth at 11-2 1/2 (3.42m).

Shane Zierden had himself a day, first tallying a third-place finish in the men's javelin throw with a mark of 160-6 (48.93m). He later collected an event crown in the men's triple jump with his mark of 47-6 1/2 (14.49m).

In the women's long jump, two Fighting Hawks reached the event finals and Anya Williams broke into the event top five with her fifth-place finish off a jump of 17-8 3/4 (5.40m, 5m/s)

Success continued for North Dakota over on the track, beginning with the 3000-meter steeplechase. Ethan Kimmel clocked a 9:29.60 for runner-up in the men's event, marking a new PR and the ninth-best time in school history. Jonas Weschle followed close behind in third with a 9:29.89 (PR, tenth all-time) and Eric Weiss came fifth in 9:41.36.

In the women's 1500-meter run, Elle Sondag claimed the crown with her top clocking of 4:40.96, which marks a new personal best.

In the men's 100-meter dash finals, UND went 1-2 as Dash Ohlsen claimed the crown in 10.88 seconds and Max Roller clocked a 10.95 for runner-up. Over in the women's portion of the event, three qualifiers all placed in the top-five. Ava Phrakonkham took runner-up in 12.05 seconds as Gretchen Raney was third in 12.06 and Alimath Salou was fourth in 12.13.

Marta Marksa and Eucabeth Kivikangas qualified for the 100-meter hurdles finals and finished first and third, respectively, with times of 13.66 and 14.74. Meanwhile, in the men's 110-meter hurdles, Ryan Lange clocked a 16.86 for fifth place.

North Dakota all found strong showing in the 200-meter dash. Cruz Megazzini won the men's race in 22.20 as Ohlsen followed in fourth (22.66) and Henry Nelson took fifth (22.87). For the women, Phrakonkham led the way with her clocking of 24.84 for third place. Salou grabbed fourth in 25.13 and Raney clinched fifth place in 25.20.

Wyatt Grueneich cracked the event top-five of the men's 400-meter dash with his fourth-place finish in 50.48 seconds.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Josh Neil won the event in a time of 55.57 while Lange took fourth in 57.75. For the women, Marksa tallied another event win as she crossed the finish line in 1:01.43 for the top spot.

Luke Fehrenbacher lead the way for the Fighting Hawks in the men's 800-meter run, taking second in 1:54.61. Darby Griffini also finished in the top-five with his time of 1:55.75 for fourth place.

In the longest track event of the day, Niko Angell won the men's 5000-meter run in a time of 15:07.04 as Weston Forward took fourth with a clocking of 15:48.02.

The men's 4x100-meter relay team of Ohlsen, Roller, Neil and Megazzini ran a time of 41.42 to take the event crown.

In the final week before the conference meet, North Dakota track and field will take on the Hillsdale Last Chance on Wednesday, May 6 and the NDSU Tune-Up on Friday, May 8.

Post-Meet Notes