AZUSA, Calif. – Four North Dakota heptathletes began the opening four events of the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Multis on Thursday.

With the large amount of combined event athletes taking part in the Bryan Clay Multis, teams were split up into groups. Malene Kollberg drew section A of the heptathlon, while Tiffanie Magnusson, Eucabeth Kivikangas and Justina Esangbedo each participated in section B.

Kollberg ended the day 10th in group A with 3,224 points. She recorded a day-high total of 970 points in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.06, good for the seventh-best time of the group. In the high jump, she added 747 points with a clearance of 5-3 1/4 (1.61m), which tied for the seventh-best height in group A. She then earned 616 points with a personal-best throw of 37-1 1/4 (11.31m) in the shot put, improving her previous best of 35-7 1/4 (10.85m). Kollberg ended the day with her most impressive PR, clocking a time of 24.95 in the 200 meters, which now ranks as the No. 8 time in school history in the event and gave her the final 891 points of the day.

Magnusson leads the Fighting Hawks in group B and is eighth with 3,001 points. She also had a day-high total in the 100-meter hurdles and ran a time of 14.74 for her first 876 points of the day. She recorded a day-best finish and tied for sixth in the high jump with a clearance of 5-2 1/4 (1.58m) for 712 points. Magnusson added 582 points to her total with a mark of 35-5 1/4 (10.80m) in the shot put before ending the day with a personal-best time of 25.62 in the 200 meters for her last 831 points of the evening.

Kivikangas will enter day two of group B in 11th place with 2,875 points. She started the day in the 100-meter hurdles and had a personal-best time of 15.23 for 811 points. Then, she picked up her next 610 points of the heptathlon with a height of 4-10 1/2 (1.49m) in the high jump. Kivikangas posted the second-best mark of her group in the shot put and earned 696 points with a toss of 41-1 (12.52m). She gained her final 758 points on Thursday, clocking a time of 26.45 in the 200 meters.

Esangbedo earned points in two of the heptathlon events on Thursday and currently sits 16th in group B with 1,640 points. She recorded a day-high total of 859 points in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.87. Esangbedo also won the shot put and got 781 points with a PR of 45-3 3/4 (13.81m), bettering her previous best of 45-0 1/2 (13.73m).

The heptathletes will conclude the heptathlon at the Bryan Clay Multis on Friday, with the first heptathlon event beginning at 3:30 p.m. (CT). Most of the rest of the Fighting Hawks will be in action in Fargo on Friday at the NDSU Spring Invitational, with the opening events of that meet beginning at 10 a.m. Live results for all meets can be found on FightingHawks.com.