RIVERSIDE, Calif. – North Dakota kicked off the outdoor season by winning 23 titles and breaking a pair of school records on a rainy Friday in California at the Riverside CC Open. The Fighting Hawks also recorded 17 upgrades to the UND top-10 list at the meet.

Despite wet and rainy conditions, Marta Marksa broke the first school record of the outdoor season in the 400-meter hurdles and won the title with a time of 60.48. She broke a record that stood for nearly a decade, breaking the record of Rachel Dryburgh, who set it at 60.67 at the 2015 Big Sky Outdoor Championships.

Earlier in the meet, Marksa also climbed the UND top-10 list in the 100-meter hurdles and captured the crown with a time of 13.97, which was good for the No. 4 time in program history.

Matej Hrebacka also earned a pair of titles at the meet and obliterated a school record in the process. Friday evening, he destroyed the 3,000-meter program record and won in 8:20.38. He shattered the school record of Nate Peterson, who set it at 8:37.44 at the 2016 Coastal Carolina Invitational.

In the afternoon, Hrebacka helped the distance team get off to a hot start and won the 1,500 meters in 3:52.26, adding his name to the UND top-10 list with the No. 5 time in school history. Louis-Lys Fanucchi (3:52.73 – No. 6), Henrik Lindstrot (3:53.07 – No. 7) and Lennart Lindstrot (3:53.35 – No. 8) also climbed the UND top-10 list in the event.

Those same distance squad members also joined Hrebacka in the 3,000 meters and posted improvements to the UND top-10 list during his record breaking performance. Fanucchi (8:21.41), Henrik Lindstrot (8:22.27) and Lennart Lindstrot (8:44.55) now rank No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, in school history.

Eve Goldstein led the way for the Fighting Hawks in field events, winning three of the 23 titles. She opened the meet by winning the hammer throw title with a toss of 158-6 (48.33m). Just over two hours later, she was victorious in the shot put with a mark of 45-9 3/4 (13.96m) before closing out her day in the discus and claiming the crown with a toss of 120-5 (36.71m).

Ethan Thomas earned the very first title of the outdoor season and won the javelin with a mark of 162-5 (49.52m). He was also victorious in the shot put with a toss of 54-5 1/2 (16.60m), tying the No. 10 throw on the UND top-10 list in the process.

Anya Williams also secured a pair of field crowns, winning the triple jump with a leap of 36-11 3/4 (11.27m) and the high jump with a height of 5-3 3/4 (1.62m).

Shane Zierden, Malene Kollberg and Emily Ash also picked up field event titles. Zierden recorded the No. 4 leap in school history in the triple jump with a mark of 46-9 (14.25m) to win that title. Kollberg earned the crown in the long jump with a leap of 18-10 (5.74m), while Ash had a winning clearance of 11-2 1/4 (3.41m) in the pole vault.

Nadia Evans also gained three titles during the meet on the track. She claimed the 100-meter title in 12.16, good for the No. 5 time in school history. She also posted the No. 6 time in program history in the 200 meters and won in 24.70. Evans was also victorious in the 4x100-meter relay with Patricija Grosberga, Porsha Miles and Alimath Salou, winning in 47.75, which now ranks as the No. 4 relay time in program history.

The Fighting Hawks captured both 400-meter titles. Jory Vasek ran the No. 4 time in program history and won in 48.34, while Jerzie Finstad earned the crown in the women's section in 56.10.

Earlier in the meet, Vasek won the title in the 4x100-meter relay, along with Michael Mallory, Cruz Megazzini and Maxwell Roller, posting a time of 42.38.

Brooklyn Brouse ran away from the competition in the 800 meters and had a winning time of 2:13.93.

Frida Giersdorff claimed the 3,000-meter title in 10:40.08.

The 4x400-meter relay team of Vasek, Maverick Kneefe, Henry Nelson and P.K. Moore were the final Hawks to take the track and won the event in a time of 3:16.46, tying the No. 5 time on the UND top-10 list in the process.

For more information on North Dakota track & field, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDtrackfieldXC.

POST-MEET NOTES
* North Dakota opened its outdoor season at Riverside CC in California on Friday and ran away with 23 event titles and a pair of school records. The Fighting Hawks also posted 17 improvements to the UND top-10 list.
* Marta Marksa broke the first school record of the outdoor season in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 60.48. She broke a record that stood for nearly a decade, breaking the record of Rachel Dryburgh, who set it at 60.67 at the 2015 Big Sky Outdoor Championships.
* Matej Hrebacka destroyed the 3,000-meter program record with a time of 8:20.38. He shattered the school record of Nate Peterson, who set it at 8:37.44 at the 2016 Coastal Carolina Invitational.
* Eve Goldstein (hammer throw, shot put and discus), Nadia Evans (100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100-meter relay) and Jory Vasek (400 meters, 4x100-meter relay and 4x400-meter relay) each won three titles in their respective events at the meet.