GRAND FORKS, N.D. – For the fifth year in a row, North Dakota will open the season at home, hosting the Ron Pynn Classic on Friday. The women's 5K will begin the meet at 3 p.m., followed by the men's 6K race at 3:45 p.m. Both competitions will take place at the Ray Richards Golf Course.

The meet was named after retired UND professor and long time supporter of the track & field programs, Ron Pynn. Live results will be available at HerosTiming.com.

About the Course
The Ray Richards Golf Course is located at 3501 Demers Avenue, Grand Forks, N.D., 58202.

The 5K course is a 1K loop followed by a 4K loop. The 6K race is the 1K loop repeated twice, followed by the 4K loop. The terrain is flat with a couple gradual rises, mostly grass with about 50 meters of gravel path.

Last Year at the Ron Pynn
North Dakota captured both team titles at the 2024 Ron Pynn Classic. Both teams accumulated 15 points in the victory.

Eliana Malnourie paced the UND women in the 5K, taking third with a PR time of 17:54.5. Frida Giersdorff was also in the top-five and placed fifth with a personal-best time of 18:34.6. Olivia Krafty (19:03.4), Elle Sondag (19:07.0) and Paris Hoverson (19:09.1) finished 6-7-8, each clocking PRs at the time. Krafty and Hoverson each ran personal bests over a minute faster than their previous bests. Brianna Mullen (19:14.6) and Jackie Dudus (19:24.8), each competing in their first collegiate 5K's, rounded out the scoring for the North Dakota women and were ninth and 10th, respectively.

Ian Busche won the men's 6K crown with a personal-best time of 18:25.3, beating his previous best by over 30 seconds. Aleksa Milanovic was the runner-up with a PR of 18:32.4. Matej Hrebacka, competing in his first collegiate 6K, placed seventh in 18:48.5. Niko Angell was eighth (18:49.3) and posted a PR of over a minute. Cian Nagle (18:56.4), Eric Weiss (19:07.8) and Alan Ash (19:25.7) were the final scorers for the Fighting Hawks and took ninth, 10th and 12th, respectively.

UND Women Ranked in USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings
In the opening USTFCCCA Midwest Regional Rankings released earlier this week, the North Dakota women's cross country team ranks No. 9 in the poll. At the end of last season, the Hawks were ranked No. 21 in the poll.

Hawks to Watch
On Wednesday, the Summit League announced the annual preseason poll, along with the names of four UND student-athletes who were picked as Athletes to Watch in the Summit League this season. Both NoDak teams were selected third in the preseason poll. The Hawks named Athletes to Watch were Jadyn Keeler, Shewaye Johnson, Ian Busche and Matej Hrebacka.

Keeler redshirted last cross country season but previously earned Second Team All-Summit League honors in 2023 and First Team All-Summit League accolades in 2022. Most recently, Keeler made headlines at the Jr. Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay, this August, when she ran for her home nation of Canada and was the gold medalist in the 10,000 meters (34:16.61) and silver medalist in the 5,000 meters (15:56.77).

Johnson, a transfer from Texas A&M, finished 22nd in the 6K with a time of 20:08.4 at the NCAA Division I South Central Regional Championships last season. She also finished 67th in the 6K at the SEC Cross Country Championships in 20:37.0. In 2023, she was a national qualifier for the NCAA Championships, where she took 231st in the 6K with a time of 22:07.5.

Busche ran a time of 26:06.0 at the Summit League Championships to finish 39th last season. He also clocked PR times of 23:58.7 in the 8K at the Arturo Barrios Invitational and 17:52.8 in the 6K at the Dragon Twilight Invitational.

Hrebacka garnered Second Team All-Summit League status with an eighth-place finish in the 8K in 24:50.37 last season. His finish gave him the fourth-best finish by a UND runner at the meet in school history. He also paced the UND men at the NCAA Midwest Regional and took 83rd, clocking a time of 31:04.96.

On Tap
North Dakota will visit Moorhead, Minn., next Friday for the Dragon Twilight.