NDSU track and field teams collected titles in multiple events in San Antonio, Texas, over the weekend while competing at this season’s first outdoor meet at the UTSA Invitational, with some freshman also leaving their mark.

Women

Senior Grace Emineth started things off by claiming victory in the long jump on Friday with a career-best leap of 20-7.75 (6.29m), securing her place as the third-best performer in NDSU outdoor history. Ella Gardner posted an outdoor personal record of 19-6.75 (5.96m) to earn fourth place in the event.

In the throwing events, Annabel Thorstenson captured first place in the hammer throw with a mark of 183-2 (55.83m). Adison Kapitzke also delivered a strong showing, setting a personal best of 173-10 (52.98m) to finish third. Junior Alex Seagris secured second place in the javelin with a throw of 149-9 (5.64m), while sophomore Camille Deringer placed fifth with a throw of 129-3 (39.40m).

Moving to Saturday, sophomore Arienne Birch shattered a 15-year-old school record in the high jump to highlight the closing day. Birch soared over the bar at 6-01.25 (1.86m), surpassing the previous NDSU record of 5-11.50 set by Toni Tollefson in 2010. Her jump places her among the Top 20 performers in Canadian history and establishes her as the early NCAA leader in the event this season.

Senior Reagan Baesler took home the title in the 1500m, clocking a winning time of 4:29.57. Grace Link secured third place with a time of 4:34.28.

The Bison sprint squad showed up in the 100m dash, led by freshmen Elise Wisnewski and Riika Tirkkonen, who both finished with times of 11.70 to secure third and fourth place, respectively. Their performances now rank them sixth and seventh in NDSU history. Anika Larson placed fifth with an 11.76 finish, while freshman Paige Renschler ran 11.81, earning her the 10th spot in the school record books.

In the field events, senior Grace Emineth secured third place in the triple jump with an outdoor personal-best mark of 40-5 (12.32m), tying her for 10th in NDSU history. Nyariek Kur followed closely behind, finishing fourth with a jump of 40-02.25 (12.25m). In the pole vault, Jacee Johannsen cleared an outdoor personal-best of 12-11.50 (3.95m) to claim second place.

Kendal Stingle rounded out the Bison’s top finishes by taking third place in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:03.19.

Men

Senior Hunter Klimek started things off strong on Friday with a victory in the 3000-meter steeplechase, crossing the finish line in 9:16.57.

In the field events, senior Zack Ramos secured a runner-up finish in the shot put with a throw of 58-2 (17.73m). Sophomore Jack Packer recorded a personal-best mark of 179-2 (54.60m) in the hammer throw, earning third place. Packer also placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 52-8 (16.05m). The javelin competition saw Sam Roller post the second-best mark of his career at 202-6 (61.73m), to secure third place.

In the jumps, sophomore Jayden Williams recorded a wind-aided long jump of 24-3.75 (7.41m) to claim third place, while freshman Reece Grosserode posted a wind-aided mark of 23-5 (7.14m) to finish fifth.

Will Gerber turned in a strong effort in the 5000 meters, finishing third with a time of 14:59.35.

On Saturday, redshirt freshman Brooks Turner made a statement in his outdoor debut for NDSU, clocking an impressive 13.94 seconds in the 110m hurdles. This time ranks second in NDSU history. Joining Turner in the event, Blake Nyenati ran a personal-best 14.14 to move up to No. 8 on the all-time list. Brock Johnsen also contributed, finishing in 14.27. The Bison dominated the event, securing the 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th positions.

In the high jump, Andrew Berg soared to victory with an outdoor personal best of 6-08.75 (2.05m), while teammate Braden Brown followed closely behind, clearing 6-06.75 (2.00m) to take second. Pole vaulter Zach McGlynn achieved a new outdoor personal best, clearing 16-04.75 (5.00m) to secure third place.

Ethan Moe in the 1500m secured a runner-up finish with a time of 3:51.88. Freshman Tyler Milkes clocked 10.65 seconds in the 100m dash and a wind-aided 21.22 in the 200m during his NDSU outdoor debut.

The teams will be back on the road this weekend to compete at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, California.