EUGENE, Ore. – Five Summit League student-athletes competed on the second day of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Wednesday. South Dakota’s Anna Willis and North Dakota’s Jadyn Keeler earned first-team All-American honors, South Dakota’s Marleen Mülla and North Dakota State’s Zach McGlynn earned second team All-American honors, and North Dakota State’s Paul Olson earned honorable mention All-American honors.

North Dakota
For the first time in program history, North Dakota track and field has a First Team All-American in a track event at the NCAA Championships, and the milestone was achieved by none other than Jadyn Keeler.
The historic performance came Thursday evening at Hayward Field in the women's 10,000-meter final, where Keeler delivered a thrilling effort against the nation's best.
Entering the NCAA Championships with the sixth-fastest time in the country this season, Keeler raced like one of the nation's elite from the opening gun. The Barrie, Ontario, native positioned herself comfortably in the front half of the 24-athlete field before making a decisive move with two laps remaining. Keeler surged to the front and dictated the pace, forcing the rest of the field to respond as she maintained control down the stretch. Her strong finish resulted in a time of 32:04.97 and a sixth-place finish.
The performance earned Keeler First Team All-American honors for the first time in her decorated Fighting Hawks career. It also marked the first time a North Dakota track athlete has earned First Team All-American recognition at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. In addition, her sixth-place finish matched the highest finish by a UND athlete at the NCAA Championships, equaling Molli Detloff's sixth-place performance in the hammer throw in 2019.

North Dakota State
North Dakota State placed two decathletes in the nation's Top 20 at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday.

Senior Zach McGlynn (Stephen, Minn.) placed 14th with a score of 7,430 points to earn second team All-America honors. Junior Paul Olson (Oxbow, N.D.) finished 18th with 7,185 points for honorable mention All-America status.

McGlynn and Olson became the first Bison in school history to compete in the decathlon at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. NDSU joined Illinois, Kansas State and Duke as the only four schools to have multiple decathlon entries at the national meet this year.

McGlynn capped his meet with a 1500m personal-best of 4:43.63 in the 10th and final event. Olson registered a personal-best 122-4 (37.29m) in the discus on Thursday.

At the NCAA Indoor Championships this March, McGlynn placed seventh in the heptathlon.

The top eight finishers in all events earn first team All-American honors, places 9 through 16 are named second team All-Americans, and all other national meet competitors receive honorable mention status.

South Dakota
South Dakota track and field had two women's pole vaulters set different program records Thursday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Anna Willis and Marleen Mülla competed at the NCAA Championships Thursday, and Anna Willis set the new program record to place third in the competition. Meanwhile, Marleen Mülla's 12^th place finish gives her a seventh all-American honor, the most for a Coyote woman in Division I program history.
 
Willis was one of two competitors to have a clean sheet through the first five heights of the competition, not missing a jump until 15-0 ¾ (4.59m). She was able to get over 4.59 meters on a third attempt to get a shot at 15-2 ¾ (4.64m). First on the runway at that height, Willis cleared the school record height on her first attempt to position herself in third place.

Willis took three solid runs at 15-4 ½ (4.69m) but was unable to clear that height. With Washington's Moll sisters of Amanda and Hana clearing 15-6 ½ (4.74m), Willis earned a third place finish.
 
For Mülla, it was a rocky start, but she was able to clear 14-4 ¾ (4.39m) and place 12^th to earn second team all-American honors. Mülla cleared the opening height on her second attempt and the second bar on her third attempt, but a first attempt clearance at 14-4 ¾ (4.39m) moved her into an all-American position.

For Willis, she is the first Coyote woman at the Division I level to place third or better in both the Indoor and Outdoor National Championship meets in the same season, joining Chris Nilsen as the only Coyotes, man or woman, to do it at the Division I level. She has placed fourth or better in all three of her National Championship competitions.
 
Mülla set her own history on Thursday, earning her seventh all-American honor, the most for a Coyote woman at the Division I level. It ties her with Nilsen for the most Division I all-Americans in school history overall. Mülla graduates with those seven all-American honors and the indoor school record that she shares with Willis.
#SummitOTF