FARGO, N.D. – In its final meet before the conference championships, North Dakota track and field hit its stride and put on a strong all-around showing at the NDSU Tune-Up on Friday afternoon, backed by 25 top-five finishes and seven individual event crowds.          
 
Marta Marksa had herself a day as she finished in the top-two of each of her events. She first raced her way into second place of the women's 100-meter hurdles with her clocking of 13.57, just .02 seconds off her school record. Then in the 400-meter hurdles, she crossed the finish line in a time of 1:02.28 to secure the event crown and the first-place finish.
 
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Ryan Lange raced his way into fourth place behind a time of 14.61. He also claimed a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 57.35 seconds while Josh Neil won the event in 54.08 seconds.
 
The 200-meter dash saw immense success for the Fighting Hawk in both the men's and women's races. Gretchen Raney clinched the event crown after clocking a 25.16 for first place as Alimath Salou ran a 25.43 for second and Eucabeth Kivikangas took fourth in 26.51. Meanwhile, Dash Ohlsen led the way for the men in a time of 21.60 for second place. Cruz Megazzini clocked a 21.96 for third place, Max Roller took fourth in 22.33 and Maverick Kneefe rounded out the UND top-five placers with a clocking of 22.45 for fifth place.
 
North Dakota collected a pair of back-to-back finishes in the men's 400-meter dash as Henry Nelson clocked a 51.58 to take second place and Brady Paulson finished third in 52.76.
 
In the women's 1500-meter run, Addison Beuche cracked the top-three of the event with her time of 4:51.42 which was good enough for a third-place finish and a new personal best.
 
Over in field competition, the UND women lit up the competition in the hammer throw with six reaching the event finals. Cailey Moton collected the event crown off her throw of 187-2 (57.05m) as Julia Matthews (181-4, 55.29m) took fourth. Also joining in the final were Kaylynn Red Tomahawk (sixth place, 161-10, 49.33m), Katelyn Rath (seventh place, 160-9, 49.00m) Katelyn Vesledahl (eighth place, 159-11, 48.74m) and Haidyn Skeen (ninth place, 159-8, 48.67m).
 
In the men's portion of the event, Carter Byron led the way with his fourth-place finish alongside a mark of 177-2 (54.01m). Lucas Schweigert followed in sixth (171-7, 52.30m, PR), Boaz Raderschadt was seventh (165-9, 50.53m) and Tyler Thoreson grabbed eighth (161-5, 49.21m, PR).
 
Ilaria Villa secured a crown in the women's discus throw, winning with a throw of 161-3 (49.16m) to mark her fifth top-two finish of the season. For the men, Schweigert placed sixth overall with his throw of 139-1 (42.39m).
 
Thoreson grabbed a new personal best off his throw of 55-5 (16.89m) in the men's shot put to jump to eighth all-time in UND history while finishing in second place. Raderschadt also claimed a new PR of his own with a mark of 52-7 1/4 (16.03m) to finish fourth overall. For the women, Kajsa Cabanas Andersson represented UND in the event finals, finishing seventh with a throw of 43-8 1/2 (13.32m).
 
In the women's pole vault, Emily Ash emerged victoriously with her mark of 12-5 1/2 (3.80m) to place first while Emma Briggs finished fourth with an 11-5 3/4 (3.50m).
 
Shane Zierden and Megazzini reached the men's javelin throw finals and grabbed a pair of new personal bests with mark of 171-9 (52.36m) and 171-1 (52.15m), respectively, to finish seventh and eighth. Zierden then followed that up with a third-place finish in the men's long jump after a leap of 23-0 3/4 (7.03m).
 
In high jump action, Ava Phrakonkham cracked the top-five finishers in the event with her clearance of 5-4 1/2 (1.64m). Wyatt Genelin took the crown in the men's portion of the event after clearing a height of 6-9 1/2 (2.07m) that now marks a new personal best and the fifth-best mark in school history. Sawyer Nelson also claimed third in the event with a mark of 6-1 1/4 (1.86m).  
 
North Dakota track and field will now set its sights on the Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held in Fargo, N.D. from May 14-16.
 
Post-Meet Notes

• North Dakota participated in its last meet before the conference championships next week
• The Fighting Hawks collected 25 top-five finishes in Friday action in Fargo
• Five athletes won their respective events
• Tyler Thoreson improved his spot on the UND Top 10 list in the shot put
• Wyatt Genelin exploded into the UND Top 10 for men's high jump
• UND will be back in action at the same venue next week, as NDSU hosts the championships

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