EUGENE, Ore.-Four Summit League student athletes earned All-American honors during the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday with one more earning honorable mention All-American honors.

North Dakota
Kenna Curry and Jadyn Keeler from the North Dakota track and field team made history and both earned All-America status at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday. Curry was seventh and broke her own school record in the hammer throw with a personal-best toss of 223-7 (68.16m), while Keeler finished 16th in the 10,000 meters in 32:59.12.

With both Curry and Keeler competing at the outdoor national meet, it marked the first time in UND's Division I history that a pair of Fighting Hawks took part in the meet. The last time North Dakota had two student-athletes participate at an outdoor national championship was the 2008 NCAA Division II Championships, where Heidi Evans ran in the 1,500 meters and Jessica Clausnitzer took part in the pole vault.

Friday afternoon, Curry earned First Team All-America status in the hammer throw and became just the second Fighting Hawk in UND's Division I history to gain first-team accolades. The only Hawk previously to earn the honor was Molli Detloff, who finished sixth in the hammer throw with a mark of 222-11 (67.94m) at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Curry bettered her own school record on her first throw at nationals with a PR toss of 223-7 (68.16m). That throw held up for the seventh-place finish and bettered her previous record mark of 223-1 (68.01m), which she set at the Summit League Outdoor Championships in May. Coming into Friday, Curry ranked No. 11 in the NCAA in the event.
Friday evening, Keeler earned Second Team All-America honors and became just the second Fighting Hawk to compete in a track event at the national meet in UND's Division I history, joining Luke Labatte, who took 16th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase last season. Keeler is also the first NoDak runner to participate in the 10,000 meters at a national meet since Kim Olund placed fifth at the 1996 NCAA Division II Championships.

Keeler qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 10,000-meters and clocked the fifth-fastest time (34:07.67) at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. She entered the meet ranked No. 6 in the country.

In the 10,000 meters this season, Keeler made headlines nationally and ran a time of 32:06.70 at the Stanford Invitational to finish fourth. Her time at that meet currently ranks No. 17 in the NCAA all-time in the event and set a Canadian U23 record. The previous U23 record by a Canadian in the 10,000 meters was 32:32.61, set by Gracelyn Larkin of Ontario at the 2023 Stanford Invitational. Keeler's time also completely obliterated the 10,000-meter school record, which was held by Yonca Kutluk with a time of 32:57.85 at Stanford last season. Following the NCAA Championships, Keeler will run for Canada in the 10,000 meters at the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay this August.

South Dakota
One Coyote women's pole vaulter earn her sixth NCAA all-American honor while a second earned her first all-American honor at the NCAA Championships Thursday evening at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
 
Gen Hirata and Anna Willis represented the Coyote women in the pole vault competition, and both received First Team all-American honors for their performance. On the track, Sara Reifenrath was an honorable mention in the 400-meters after a 20^th place finish in the semifinals.
 
Hirata, a senior from Fredericksburg, Virginia, earned her sixth all-American honor in the pole vault, and her fourth outdoor honor in four tries. Hirata is now tied for the most individual all-American honors (6) by a Coyote woman in the Division I era, matching Emily Grove (2012-17) and Helen Falda (2018-2021).

She placed seventh to earn First Team honors for a third time in her career, clearing a season's best 14-6 ¾ (4.44m). After needing three attempts to clear the opening bar of 13-5 (4.09m), she made the second height on her first attempt, then cleared 14-4 ¾ and 14-6 ¾ on second attempts. 
 
Willis, a freshman from Colorado Springs, Colorado, earned all-American honors for the first time. She tied for fourth place at 14-6 ¾. Like Hirata, Willis needed all three attempts to clear the opening bar. Following the third attempt clearance at 13-5, Willis made 13-11 on her second attempt and both 14-4 ¾ and 14-6 ¾ on first attempts. Willis is one of two freshmen to make the NCAA Championships and is the lone freshman First Team All-American in the women's pole vault.
 
On the track, Reifenrath's first trip to Eugene ended with honorable mention honors in the 400-meters. She placed 20^th with a time of 52.72. Reifenrath, a senior from Hartington, Nebraska, made the NCAA Championships after resetting her school record in the 400-meters twice, including a school record 51.91 in the quarterfinals.
 
The Coyotes conclude their 2024-25 track and field slate with the action Thursday evening in Eugene. In total, South Dakota earned two First Team all-Americans and two Honorable Mention all-Americans this season.
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