Many titles were claimed by Bison over the weekend at the Summit League Indoor Championships in Brookings, S.D., with the women taking home first place and the men earning second.
Women
The women finished with a total of 188 points, outpacing second-place North Dakota, which accumulated 151 points.
Sophomore Ella Gardner highlighted the opening day for the women by capturing the league title with a leap of 19-09.75 (6.04m) in the long jump. Senior Grace Emineth earned second place with a mark of 19-07.00 (5.97m), giving the Bison women a 1-2 finish in the event. Senior Merrideth Spiers delivered a throw of 66-10 (20.37m) in the weight throw, claiming second place.
Jaelyn Miller, Soraya Espino, Kate LeBlanc and Reagan Berg finished second with a time of 11:49.64 in the distance medley relay.
On the final day, the Bison took two more titles home, starting with sophomore Arienne Birch in the high jump. Birch extended her perfect career record at the Summit League championships to 3-for-3, clearing a season-best 5-09.75 (1.77m) to win the event. In the triple jump, Gardner claimed her second title of the meet, recording a personal-best 41-01.50 (12.53m) on her final attempt to secure the title by just one inch.
Sophomore Anika Larson put forth a strong showing in both the 60m and 200m dash, earning second in both events. Larson tied her personal best in the 60m with a time of 7.41 and set a new personal record in the 200m with a time of 23.93. In the 60m hurdles, Sydney Arndt clocked a time of 8.30 to take second place, tying her personal best. Adison Kapitzke earned the runner-up spot in the shot put with a throw of 48-00.00 (14.63m).
Four women on the Bison placed in the top eight in the mile. Reagan Baesler took third, Grace Link finished fourth, Jaelyn Miller ran a personal-best 4:52.19 for fifth, and Reagan Berg finished eighth. Baesler continued to impress, setting a personal best in the 5,000m with a time of 16:48.81, placing fourth in the event.
In the 400m dash, the Bison claimed 3-4-5 in the final. Allie Niska ran 54.40 to finish third. Reese Rogowski set a personal-best 54.83, while Kaci Cooper ran a personal-best 55.19.
The 4x400m relay team of Rogowski, Cooper, Riika Tirkkonen, and Elise Wisnewski finished second with a time of 3:42.27. In the individual sprints, Wisnewski earned a fourth-place finish in the 200m with a time of 24.39.
Men
Despite their impressive performances, the Bison finished second in the team standings. South Dakota State took the championship with 164.5 points, while NDSU scored 148.5.
On Friday, Jarod White won the pole vault, clearing 17-09.00 (5.41m). White entered the meet ranked third in the conference but was the only competitor to clear the height, earning the title and improving his own record in the process. With his win, White now stands at No. 32 on the NCAA performance list for the season.
In the distance medley relay, Hunter Klimek anchored the Bison to a third consecutive conference title. Klimek, who ran the final 1600-meter leg, helped the team clock a time of 9:59.22, securing the win. The relay squad consisted of Will Gerber, Cullen Curl, Jonah Dafoe, and Klimek.
The Bison men placed 3-4-5 for a total of 15 team points in the long jump. Hunter Merkley, a senior, took third place with a jump of 23-06.25 (7.17m), while freshman Reece Grosserode followed closely behind in fourth with a leap of 23-05.50 (7.15m). Sophomore Jayden Williams rounded out the Bison’s score, taking fifth place with a mark of 23-04.75 (7.13m). Jack Packer placed third in the weight throw with a personal best throw of 60-03 (18.36m).
NDSU wrapped things up on Saturday by capturing four individual event titles. Brooks Turner ran a personal best 7.76 to claim the conference title in the 60m hurdles. His time places him among the Top 50 in the nation this season.
In the heptathlon, sophomore Paul Olson added another title to his collection, following his 2024 Summit League decathlon victory. Olson scored a personal best of 5,365 points.
Zack Ramos brought home another championship for the Bison, winning the shotput with a season-best throw of 61-00.75 (18.61m). Sophomore Adam Dugger secured the triple jump title with a leap of 49-04.50 (15.05m). Grosserode earned the runner-up spot at 49-02.25 (14.99m) and was later named the Men’s Newcomer of the Championship as the highest-scoring true freshman of the meet.