FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The final day of competition at the NCAA West Preliminary Round ended in high fashion for North Dakota track and field following a trio of Fighting Hawk performances on Saturday.
 
Headlines were made as Jadyn Keeler wrapped up the meet for UND and did so in stunning style during the women's 5000-meter run. She clocked a time of 15:26.87 to finish fourth in her heat and fifth overall which also marked a brand new school record, a new personal best and her second ticket punched to the NCAA Championship meet. Her overall finish marks a grand improvement from her initial ranking heading into the event at No. 10 overall in the region.
 
It marks the fourth time Keeler has competed in the 5000-meter run this season. The senior initially broke her own school record and solidified her regional meet bid with her performance at the Bryan Clay Invitational that ended in a time of 15:26.98.
 
Also competing in day four was Frida Giersdorff, who represented the Fighting Hawks in the 3000-meter steeplechase. She ran a time of 10:42.79 to finish 31^st overall after participating in the third straight NCAA West Prelims of her career. The junior's season comes to a close after a sparkling year marked by a school record-showing, three new personal bests and an All-Summit League performance at the conference meet a few short weeks ago where she collected a silver medal in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
 
Her NCAA West Prelim bid came after initially breaking the 3000-meter steeplechase school record in 10:06.17 at the Stanford Invitational.
 
The first athlete to take on Saturday action was Anya Williams in the women's high jump, who was unable to clear a bar in the event. But her sophomore season was nothing short of history-making. Williams' second-year campaign resulted in two broken school records in the high jump and triple jump, a runner-up and silver-medal showing at the conference meet and a total of three new personal bests in the high jump, long jump and triple jump all within a single week.
 
It was her school-record clearance of 5-9 1/4 (1.76m) at the Gary Wilson Invitational that helped her secure a NCAA West Prelims bid.
 
With competition at the preliminary round now completed, Jadyn Keeler and Louis-Lys Fanucchi will soon represent North Dakota at the 2025-26 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. from June 10-13.

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