NDSU Men and Women T&F Lead After Day 2 of Summit League Championships

Bison men with 153 points after eight events, women with 170 after nine events.

FARGO, N.D. (NDSU Athletics) – The North Dakota State men’s track & field team used dominant performances in the shot put and decathlon to build an 80-point lead in the team race on the second day of the Summit League Outdoor Championships in Fargo.

After eight events, the Bison men have 153 points. South Dakota State is currently second with 73.

The Bison men put together one of the most electric shot put competitions in league history, capturing six of the top eight places with five of those NDSU placewinners throwing personal-best marks.

NDSU senior Alex Renner won his third straight outdoor league title in the shot put with his toss of 64-04.50 (19.62m) – a new school record, meet record and facility record. Renner moved up to No. 10 on the NCAA performance list this season.

The Bison men finished 1-2-4-6-7-8 in the shot put to score 29 team points with Renner, senior Conrad Schwarzkopf, junior Steffan Stroh, redshirt freshman Michael Keogan, senior Brian Blasey and junior Jacob McBride. Schwarzkopf registered a career-best by nearly two feet, taking conference runner-up honors at 61-07.50 (18.78m). He now ranks 22nd in the NCAA this year.

All in all, the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 marks in North Dakota State history were set on Friday afternoon, with Stroh throwing 60-03.25 (18.37m) to rank third in school history.

NDSU senior Angus Stoudt scored 7,085 points to win the Summit League decathlon and rank eighth all-time at NDSU, as the Bison swept the top five places in the decathlon. Junior Matt Neururer took runner-up honors with a personal-best score of 7,023 points – good enough for 10th in NDSU history.

Bison sophomore Ryan Enerson was third with 6,798 points, freshman Tony Ukkelberg took fourth with 6,520, and sophomore Matt Moberg scored 6,374 for fifth place. All five NDSU decathletes recorded new personal-best scores.

The Bison men picked up more critical points in the steeplechase to end the day, with junior Brant Gilbertson placing second, senior Matt Jennings in third and sophomore Camron Roehl taking fourth for 19 team points.

Freshman Ben Klimpke came up huge in the long jump for the Bison, taking third place for All-Summit League honors at 24-01.50 (7.35m) to rank ninth in NDSU history in the event.

Stoudt (14.84), Enerson (14.94) and Klimpke (15.53) all advanced to Saturday’s 110m hurdles final. Three Bison men also qualified for the 400m hurdles final: Aron Klos (55.20), Brian Ferry (56.13) and Andrew Steinwand (56.21).

Landon Jochim (48.36) and Jacob Richter (48.65) cruised into Saturday’s 400m dash final. Tim Heikkila (1:53.34) and Byrne Curl (1:55.35) both moved on to the 800m final, with Heikkila’s time being a new personal-best. J.T. Butler advanced to the finals of both the 100m dash and 200m dash, clocking 10.70 seconds in the 100m and 21.29 in the 200m.

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Rose Jackson won a pair of Summit League titles, Taylor Janssen claimed the steeplechase crown, and the North Dakota State women registered big points in the shot put to headline the second day of competition at the Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Fargo.

North Dakota State expanded its lead in the women’s team race, leading South Dakota by a margin of 170-117 through nine events.

Bison senior Rose Jackson won her second Summit League heptathlon crown to kickstart the day, totaling 5,409 points. Junior Amanda Levin scored a career-best 5,321 points for a runner-up finish in the heptathlon, ranking her fourth all-time at NDSU and among the top 40 in the NCAA this year.

Jackson returned later to capture her second conference title of the day, taking first in the long jump with a career-best leap of 20-09.75 (6.34m). She moved into the top 25 in the NCAA this season and up to No. 2 all-time in NDSU history in the long jump. Levin also earned a third-place finish in the long jump at 19-08.00 (5.99m).

NDSU senior Taylor Janssen won the 3,000m steeplechase in 10:30.10 for the second individual league title of her career. Sophomore Annika Rotvold placed third in her steeplechase debut, clocking 11:05.06 to rank eighth in school history in the event.

The Bison women finished 2-3-4-6-7-8 in the shot put to rack up 25 team points. Senior Jordyn Thornton was the runner-up with a career-best throw of 50-00.75 (15.26m) to rank fifth all-time at NDSU. Behind Thornton, NDSU had sophomore Shelby Gunnells in third, redshirt freshman Bailey Retzlaff in fourth, sophomore Maddy Nilles in sixth, senior Katelyn Weimerskirch in seventh, and redshirt freshman Maggie Schwarzkopf in eighth.

Bison freshman Lexy Wittmayer took second place in the high jump, climbing into a tie for fourth in NDSU history at 5-09.25 (1.76m) – a mark that will likely qualify her for the NCAA Preliminary Rounds.

Freshman Macy Denzer scored 4,687 points in the heptathlon to finish fourth. Junior Piper Jensen was fifth in the long jump with a wind-aided mark of 19-03.50 (5.88m).

The Bison women also positioned themselves to score big in the running event finals on Saturday, advancing multiple athletes in several events. Three Bison women moved on to the 200m dash final: Alexis Woods (23.93), Jackson (23.94) and Gabby Grommesh (24.76). In the 400m hurdles, senior Morgan Milbrath (59.97), Levin (1:02.87) and sophomore Dakota Wood all advanced to the final.

Jackson was also the fastest qualifier to the 100m dash final in 11.74 seconds, and Grommesh advanced in 11.95.

Woods (55.05) and Milbrath (55.67) were the two fastest qualifiers to the 400m dash final. Seniors Amy Andrushko (2:10.61) and Jenny Guibert (2:11.12) both cruised into the 800m final.

The Summit League Championships will conclude on Saturday at Schlanser Track.