BROOKINGS, S.D. – At the end of the opening day of the Summit League Indoor Championships on Friday, the North Dakota women currently lead the team race with 66 points through the first five scored events, while the NoDak men sit fourth with 24 points through five scored events.

Tiffanie Magnusson (pentathlon), Kenna Curry (weight throw) and Jadyn Keeler (3,000 meters) all captured gold for the Fighting Hawks on the first day. UND also broke a pair of school records, posted eight improvements to the UND top-10 list and had eight medalists at the meet.

North Dakota's pentathletes helped North Dakota get off to a strong start at the Summit League Indoor Championships, completing a 1-2-3 sweep on the podium. It was the fourth consecutive season where the Summit League Pentathlon Champion was a Fighting Hawk.

After finishing as the runner-up the previous two seasons, Magnusson captured gold and won the pentathlon with 3,794 points on Friday. It is her third consecutive season earning All-Summit League status in the pentathlon. Magnusson recorded a personal-best time of 8.75 in the 60-meter hurdles and moved up to No. 7 in UND history in the event with that time. She also had the top clearance in the pentathlon high jump with a height of 5-4 1/2 (1.64m). After that point, she led the rest of the way of the competition.

Malene Kollberg earned a silver medal in the pentathlon and had a runner-up finish with 3,732 points. Kollberg, the 2023 and 2024 Summit League Pentathlon Champion, earned All-Summit League accolades in the event for the third straight year with her finish. Kollberg led all pentathletes in the 60-meter hurdles with a PR time of 8.64, which ties her for the No. 3 time in the event in UND history. Kollberg also recorded the top mark in the pentathlon long jump with a leap of 19-4 1/4 (5.90m), which put her just 25 points behind Magnusson heading into the final event of the pentathlon.

Eucabeth Kivikangas gained the bronze medal and All-Summit League honors in the pentathlon with a personal-best point total of 3,683 points. With her PR, Kivikangas improved her No. 5 total on the UND top-10 list. She had the top throw of the pentathlon shot put with a mark of 40-7 1/2 (12.83m). Kivikangas had a gutsy performance in the pentathlon 800 meters and posted a PR time of 2:27.23 while out-running Magnusson (2:27.84) and Kollberg (2:30.83) to secure her third-place finish.

Curry, the 2024 Summit League Champion in the women's weight throw, successfully defended her crown and won gold with a toss of 70-6 1/4 (21.49m). Her finish added 10 more points to the UND team total and earned her All-Summit League status.

Keeler beat the rest of the competition in the 3,000 meters by over nine seconds, won the gold medal and received All-Summit League honors with a time of 9:21.78.

Eliana Malnourie also ran in the women's 3,000 meters and was the runner-up with a personal-best time of 9:31.49. The silver medalist also improved her No. 3 time in school history with the PR and gained All-Summit League status.

Shane Zierden, projected to take 10th in the long jump coming into the meet, earned the silver medal and All-Summit League honors with a personal-best leap of 23-7 1/4 (7.19m). His PR moved him up to No. 4 in the long jump in school history.

Matej Hrebacka also picked up All-Summit League honors for the first time of his career and finished third in the men's 3,000 meters with a time of 8:12.12. He scored a day-high six points on the track for the UND men.

Magnusson and Kollberg, who showed out in the pentathlon earlier, combined to add nine points for the Fighting Hawks in the women's long jump. Magnusson was fourth with a leap of 18-10 1/2 (5.75m), while Kollberg placed fifth with a mark of 18-9 3/4 (5.73m).

Ethan Thomas and Lucas Schweigert both scored points in the men's weight throw. Thomas scored the first four points for the NoDak men and placed fifth with a toss of 59-3 (18.06m). Schweigert was eighth and added a point to the NoDak total with a personal-best distance of 55-9 3/4 (17.01m).

Julia Matthews, competing in the women's weight throw with Curry earlier, earned a point for the Fighting Hawk women and placed eighth with a mark of 57-2 1/4 (17.43m).

In the final event of the day on the track, North Dakota's men's distance medley relay squad of Ethan Kimmel, Josh Neil, Aleksa Milanovic and Cian Nagle placed fourth and broke the school record with a time of 10:03.60. They broke the school record time of 10:03.97, set by Zach Long, Max Baker, Matt Russell and Luke Labatte at the 2021 Summit League Indoor Championships.

The DMR team of Elle Sondag, Kimberly Hitchen, Morgan Hartze and Olivia Krafty scored the final four points of the day for the women and placed fifth with a time of 12:17.13. That time now sits No. 10 in school history.

The most impressive performance of the preliminary round came in the women's 60-meter hurdles, where Marta Marksa automatically qualified for the final and broke the school record in the process with a personal-best time of 8.48. She broke the record of Erin Brown, who set it at 8.51 at the 2020 Summit League Indoor Championships. Coming into the day, Marksa was tied with Brown for the record.

Kollberg clocked a time of 8.80 in the 60-meter hurdles prelims and earned the final spot of qualifying.

Both Jiri Ceska and Brooklyn Brouse automatically qualified for the 800-meter final in their respective sections. Ceska had the fastest time of prelims on the men's side and automatically qualified with a time of 1:52.08. Brouse won her heat in 2:12.58 to automatically qualify for the women's final.

In the 400-meter prelims, both Jory Vasek and Jerzie Finstad qualified for the final. Vasek won his heat in 47.85, while Finstad posted the second-fastest time in the women's prelims and qualified in 54.85.

Nadia Evans was the final Hawk to qualify for a final and took the final qualifying spot in the 200-meter prelims with a time of 24.66.

North Dakota will conclude its stay at the Summit League Indoor Championships on Saturday. Field events are slated to start at 11:30 a.m., followed by action on the track at 1 p.m. Live results will continue to be provided by Dakota Timing. Portions of the meet will also be streamed on The Summit League Network.

Summit League Indoor Championships | Day 1 Notes
* The North Dakota women lead all teams through five scored events with 66 points. North Dakota State is the next-closest team with 49 points.
* The Fighting Hawk men currently sit fourth through five scored events with 24 points. South Dakota State has the top spot with 50.5 points.
* Tiffanie Magnusson (pentathlon), Kenna Curry (weight throw) and Jadyn Keeler (3,000 meters) each earned gold medals in their respective events.
* Malene Kollberg (pentathlon), Eliana Malnourie (3,000 meters) and Shane Zierden (long jump) were the silver medalists for the Fighting Hawks.
* Eucabeth Kivikangas (pentathlon) and Matej Hrebacka (3,000 meters) were the bronze medalists for UND on day one.
* UND's distance medley relay squad of Ethan Kimmel, Josh Neil, Aleksa Milanovic and Cian Nagle broke the school record with a time of 10:03.60. They broke the school record time of 10:03.97, set by Zach Long, Max Baker, Matt Russell and Luke Labatte at the 2021 Summit League Indoor Championships.
* Marta Marksa broke the program record in the preliminary round of the women's 60-meter hurdles. She automatically qualified for the final and broke the record with a PR time of 8.48. She broke the record of Erin Brown, who set it at 8.51 at the 2020 Summit League Indoor Championships. Coming into the day, Marksa was tied with Brown for the record.