North Dakota State University track and field teams delivered impressive performances over the weekend at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational at the University of Missouri, highlighted by dominant performances for the men in the 60-meter hurdles and women in the 400-meter dash.

Women

Starting things off on Friday for the women, sophomore Anika Larson set a personal best in the 200m dash, clocking in at 24.51 seconds. Her time earned her a sixth-place finish in the meet and put her at number 9 on NDSU’s all-time indoor list. Freshman Elise Wisnewski matched her indoor personal best with a time of 24.53 seconds, securing the 10th spot in NDSU history. Over in the field events, Merrideth Spiers had an impressive showing in the weight throw, placing third with a mark of 64-7.25 (19.69m), the second-best throw of her career.

Teammate Annabel Thorstenson also had a strong performance, finishing ninth with a season-best mark of 59-2.75 (18.05m). Senior Grace Emineth made an impact in the long jump, securing fourth place with a jump of 19 feet, 11 inches (6.07m). Freshman Nyariek Kur followed behind, taking seventh place with a mark of 18 feet, 11.75 inches (5.78m). The Bison also had success in the pole vault competition. Jacee Johannsen cleared 13-4.25 (4.07m) to claim fourth place, while Julia Gherardi recorded a season-best vault of 12-10.25 (3.92m), tying for seventh place.

Moving into Saturday, sophomore Reese Rogowski highlighted the day with a personal-best time of 55.21 seconds in the 400-meter dash, securing third place in the meet. Her performance now ranks 10th on the NDSU all-time indoor list. Teammates Allie Niska (55.50) and Kaci Cooper (56.04) also posted personal bests, finishing in fifth and seventh place, respectively. In the 4x400m relay, Cooper, Elise Wisnewski, Riika Tirkkonen, and Rogowski clocked in at 3:43.80 to take third place, coming just short of cracking the NDSU all-time indoor Top 10.

NDSU hurdlers also made an impact, with Sydney Arndt securing third place in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.64 seconds. Marvelous Onwualo finished seventh in the event, clocking in at 8.79 seconds. Sprinter Anika Larson finished fourth with a time of 7.50 seconds. Sophomore Arienne Birch tied for fifth place in the high jump, clearing a height of 5-7 (1.70m). Meanwhile, thrower Adison Kapitzke earned eighth place in the shot put with a mark of 48-05.25 (14.76m), the second-best throw of her career. In the triple jump, freshman Nyariek Kur secured eighth place with a leap of 39-08.50 (12.10m).

Men

Starting on Friday, sophomore Jayden Williams led the Bison in the long jump, finishing fifth with a personal-best leap of 23-10.25 (7.27m). Meanwhile, Jarod White jumped to a height of 16-9.50 (5.12m) in the pole vault, earning him sixth place. On the track, freshman Tyler Milkes clocked an indoor personal best of 22.04 seconds in the 200-meter dash, securing eighth place. Teammate Jeran McNichols followed close behind with a time of 22.17 seconds, finishing 12th. In the field events, sophomore thrower Jack Packer recorded a career-best mark in the weight throw, achieving 58-11.25 (17.96m). Additionally, competing unattached for NDSU, Zach McGlynn led the heptathlon with 3,325 points after the first day of competition.

Saturday was headlined by a dominant performance in the 60-meter hurdles, with the Bison claiming the top three spots in the event. Senior Brock Johnsen claimed the 60m hurdles title with a time of 7.95 seconds, matching his personal best set earlier this season. Sophomore Trey Heinrich finished closely behind in second place at 8.02, while redshirt freshman Brooks Turner secured third in 8.04 seconds.

In the heptathlon, unattached competitor Zach McGlynn posted a career-best 5,733 points, a mark that would rank as the second-best in NDSU history. Teammate Bryce Enerson surpassed the 5,000-point threshold for the third time in his career, tallying 5,030 points. High jumpers Andrew Berg and Paul Olson each cleared 6-8 (2.03 meters) to tie for second place in the event.

The Bison also had strong performances in the horizontal jumps, with sophomore Adam Dugger placing fifth in the triple jump with a leap of 49-1.75 (14.98 meters). Freshman Reece Grosserode placed sixth with a jump of 48-11.75 (14.93 meters). On the track, sophomore Jayden Williams clocked 6.88 seconds in the 60m dash to take sixth place, while Logan Mathieu finished ninth in 6.94 seconds. In the throws, Zack Ramos achieved a season-best mark in the shot put, reaching 56-10 (17.32 meters) to secure eighth place.

Up next, NDSU will be hosting the Bison Open this weekend. The meet will take place Feb. 7-8 at Shelly Ellig Indoor Track and Field Facility.