FARGO, N.D. – Mother Nature delayed the start of the 2026 Summit League Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday at the Terrence Dahl and Donna Beres Track Complex but the winds finally relented enough for the men's and women's teams to open their respective trophy chases.
North Dakota's Jadyn Keeler and Tiffanie Magnusson won two of three completed events on the women's side to stake the Fighting Hawks to a 30-point lead in the women's team standings, while South Dakota built a 19.5-point lead on in-state foe South Dakota State. Freshman Caelan Harland provided 10 points for the Coyotes following his victory in the pole vault.
The men's and women's javelin competitions, which were originally scheduled for Thursday, were pushed to Saturday due to the delayed start to the Championships.
Men’s Current Standings (through three events scored)
| Place |
School |
Score |
| 1. |
South Dakota |
46.5 |
| 2. |
South Dakota State |
27 |
| 3. |
North Dakota State |
24.5 |
| 4. |
Oral Roberts |
11 |
| 5. |
North Dakota |
8 |
Women’s Current Standings (through three events scored)
| Place |
School |
Score |
| 1. |
North Dakota |
54 |
| 2. |
North Dakota State |
24 |
| T-3. |
South Dakota |
13 |
|
St. Thomas |
13 |
| 5. |
South Dakota State |
10 |
Multi-Event Update
In the men’s decathlon, NDSU's Zach McGlynn, who was an All-American in the indoor heptathlon, leads after five completed events with a score of 4,239 points. He racked up his point total thanks to victories in the long jump (24-00.25"; 7.32m) and high jump (6-10.25"; 2.09m), which he cleared a season best in, and second-place finishes in the shot put (44-06", 13.56m) and 400-meter dash (49.73).
Through four events in the women’s heptathlon, North Dakota’s Eucabeth Kivikangas leads the field with 3,173 points after topping the eight-athlete field in the shot put (41-01.75", 12.54m) and placing second in the 100-meter hurdles (14.15).
Top Performers
South Dakota’s Delaney Smith won the hammer throw competition on her fifth attempt, landing a mark of 195-05" (59.56m) to secure the title. The Coyote graduate student passed runner-up Josie Curry of South Dakota State to win her first career individual title. Curry had led the competition from the opening round when she had her best effort (187-07"; 57.18m).
Harland provided 10 points for the Coyote men with his victory in the pole vault. The USD rookie backed up his victory at the indoor championship with a clearance of 17-10.25" (5.44m) to win gold at the outdoor meet. Harland was followed by teammate Beau Karst (17-06.25"; 5.34m), while fellow Coyote Dutch Nueweiler and North Dakota State vaulter Aaron Cummings shared third after both had two misses before getting by the bar at 17-02.25" (5.24) on their first attempts.
In the hammer throw, NDSU's Kaden Pastian was the lone competitor to surpass the 200-foot mark, registering a personal-best throw of 207-05" (63.23m) to win the event he finished runner-up in a season ago. The top four finishers all put up their best marks in the second round as South Dakota's Quincy Warren took second (194-11"; 59.41m) and NDSU's Jack Packer placed third (194-01"; 59.16m) to finish on the podium.
In the women's 200-meter dash prelims, NDSU's Paige Renschler broke the meet record, facility record and became the first Bison to post a sub-23 second time as she clocked a 22.98 to claim a spot in Saturday's final. Fellow Bison Anika Larson also posted a personal-best with a time of 23.37 and St. Thomas' Alexis Pratt rounded out the top three in prelims with her personal-best time of 23.45.
In the women's 400-meter hurdle prelims, St. Thomas' Olivia Keller, who placed third in the finals in 2025, turned in the top preliminary effort with a personal-best time of 58.57.
In the women's 10,000-meter run, North Dakota's top two finishers broke the previous meet record with Jadyn Keeler breaking claiming the title as she posted a 35.03.58, while Shewaye Johnson was just behind in 35:16.71. Keeler broke the previous meet record of 35:18.59 set in 2015 by Amber Eichkorn of South Dakota. The Fighting Hawks had four of the top five finishers overall as Marie-Louis Jorgensen was third in 36:04.25 and Naja Weiler placed fifth in 36:13.27.
In the men’s 200-meter dash prelims, Kansas City’s Tory Lanham cruised to a new meet record of 20.34 seconds for the second straight year, eclipsing his time of 20.52 set last year in Vermillion. Lanham also set the facility record and established the sixth fastest time among Division I sprinters this season. He will be joined by a trio of fellow Roos in Saturday's final.
In the men's 400-meter hurdle prelims, it was another Roo who had the top time as Brendan Badie's 52.85 was a half-second faster than the rest of the competitors. NDSU's Carter Elde was second with a season-best time of 53.35, while Josh Neil also posted a 53.35, which was good for a new personal best.
Tiffanie Magnusson set a personal best to win the long jump with a leap of 20-01.25" (6.12m) and give the Fighting Hawks 10 more points on opening day. NDSU's Grace Van Erp just missed the 20-foot barrier, placing second with with a mark of 19-11.75" (6.08m). UND also got six points from Marta Marksa, who took third with a jump of 19-11.50" (6.08m).
In the men’s 10,000 meters, Chelangam captured his third straight title with a time of 31:14.58, holding off a late push by South Dakota's Piercze Marshall (31:18.62) to defend his back-to-back titles for ORU. It was sixth career outdoor title, tying him for fourth most in Summit League history.
Men’s Champions Crowned
Hammer: Kaden Pastian, North Dakota State | 207-05" (63.23m)
Pole Vault: Caelan Harland, South Dakota | 17-10.25" (5.44m)
10,000m: Abraham Chelangam, Oral Roberts | 31:14.58***
Women’s Champions Crowned
Hammer: Delaney Smith, South Dakota | 195-05" (59.56m)
Long Jump: Tiffanie Magnusson, North Dakota | 20-01" (6.12m)
10,000m: Jadyn Keeler, North Dakota | 35:03.58**
*number of career titles in the event
Up Next
The championships continue Friday at the Terrence Dahl & Donna Beres Track Complex with the final events of the decathlon and heptathlon scheduled to start at 11 a.m. CT. Field events start at 2 p.m., followed by track events at 4 p.m.
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