COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Three student-athletes from North Dakota competed at the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Thursday, highlighted by Jadyn Keeler (10,000 meters) and Kenna Curry (hammer throw) punching their tickets to the NCAA Championships in their respective events. Curry also wrapped up an impressive season throwing the shot put, while Jerzie Finstad made history in the 400 meters.
In the final event of day two of the NCAA West Preliminary Round, Keeler punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships in the 10,000 meters while clocking the fifth-fastest time (34:07.67) at the meet. By qualifying for nationals, Keeler became the first women’s distance runner in UND’s Division I history to qualify for the national championship meet.
Keeler is also just the second Fighting Hawk in history to compete in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, with Yonca Kutluk making history last season when she finished 17th at the meet in 34:53.56.
The distance runner from Barrie, Ontario, came into the regional ranked No. 6 in the NCAA and No. 5 in the West Region. Keeler was seeded No. 4. Her school-record time of 32:06.70 at the Stanford Invitational at the beginning of April qualified her for the meet. Keeler placed fourth in her section of the 10,000 meters at Stanford and shattered the previous program record of Kutluk, who set it at 32:57.85 at Stanford in 2024. Keeler’s time not only made UND history but also made headlines nationally, as it ranked No. 17 in the NCAA all-time in the event and broke the Canadian U23 national record time. The previous U23 record time nationally by a Canadian was 32:32.61, which was set by Gracelyn Larkin of Ontario at the 2023 Stanford Invitational. Following the upcoming NCAA Championships, Keeler will run in the 10,000 meters for Canada at the Junior Pan American Games in Asunción, Paraguay this August.
At the Summit League Outdoor Championships, Keeler paced the UND track athletes and piled up three all-conference accolades. On the final day of the conference meet, she was the gold medalist in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:09.70. With that time, she broke the Summit League Outdoor Championships meet record time of 16:16.48, set by Amber Eichkorn of South Dakota in 2015. She was also the silver medalist in the 1,500 meters in 4:24.35 and ran away from the field in the 10,000 meters to gain the gold in 35:32.01, crossing the finish line 25 seconds faster than the rest of the competition. At the end of the conference meet, she was named the Track Championship M.V.P.
Throughout the season, Keeler has rewritten the UND record books and owns the program records in the 1,500 meters (4:20.03), 5,000 meters (15:33.59) and 10,000 meters (32:06.70).
Earlier in the afternoon, Curry also qualified for the national championship meet in the hammer throw with a toss of 208-2 (63.44m) at the NCAA West Regional. By qualifying for the NCAA Championships, Curry became the second UND thrower to qualify for the meet in UND’s Division I history, joining Molli Detloff, who competed at the national meet in the hammer throw in both 2017 (sixth) and 2019 (12th).
The Elk Point, S.D., native, remains just the fifth North Dakota thrower in school history on the women’s side to compete in the event at the NCAA West Preliminary Round and is also just the second Fighting Hawk to throw the hammer at the NCAA Regional in three consecutive years, as Detloff competed in the event at the regional in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Later in the evening, Curry returned to the E.B. Cushing Stadium to take part in the shot put, where she finished 24th with a throw of 51-3 (15.62m). That toss gave her the best finish by a North Dakota athlete in the event at the meet in program history. The only other Fighting Hawk on the women’s side to ever throw the shot at the NCAA Regional was Katelyn Weber in 2017 and 2018. Weber’s best finish was 32nd in 2017 with a toss of 48-9 1/2 (14.87m). Based on finishes in the event, Curry’s throw also beat the overall best at the meet in UND history, which was set by Ethan Thomas last night with his 35th-place finish and throw of 57-11 1/4 (17.66m). Curry is also the first UND athlete in school history to toss both the hammer and shot put at the NCAA West Preliminary Round in the same year.
Curry came into the meet as the No. 8 seed in the hammer throw and No. 24 seed in the shot put. She solidified her spot at the NCAA West Preliminary Round at the Summit League Outdoor Championships two weeks ago.
At the outdoor conference meet, Curry led the UND field athletes with three All-Summit League performances. She was the gold medalist in the shot put with a toss of 51-6 1/4 (15.70m) and the silver medalist in the discus with a throw of 163-7 (49.68m) on the final day of the Summit League Outdoor Championships. On the opening day, she also captured the gold medal, broke the school record and shattered the conference meet record in the hammer throw with a PR of 223-1 (68.01m). Her throw broke the program record of Detloff, who set it at 222-1 (67.94m) at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Curry’s hammer throw mark also bettered the conference meet record of 217-6 (66.29m), which was set by Maddy Niles of North Dakota State in 2022. At the conclusion of the conference meet, Curry was named the Field Championship M.V.P.
During the regular season, Curry set a new shot put school record with a throw of 53-8 1/4 (16.36m) and recorded the No. 5 mark in the hammer throw in program history with a toss of 172-2 (52.48m). She also captured eight throwing titles.
Finstad also made history at the meet, becoming the first UND athlete since 2016 to compete in the 400 meters at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. She took 41st in 54.41 and ran the fastest 400-meter time at the NCAA West Regional in program history. The only previous North Dakota athletes to compete in the event at the NCAA Regional were Stephanie Clarke (2014) and Tianna McKinney (2016). Finstad’s time edged out the previous best NCAA West Preliminary Round time by a UND sprinter, which was 54.61 by Clarke in 2014.
Finstad drew heat five and was shy of the time to qualify for the 400-meter quarterfinal on Saturday. The final qualifying time in her heat went to Alivia Williams of Iowa, who clocked a time of 52.90.
The sprinter from Thief River entered the meet as the No. 42 seed in the 400 meters and qualified for the regional with her time of 53.57 at the Gary Wilson Invitational. Finstad’s time at Minnesota was a personal best and broke the UND record time of 53.96, which was set by Lucy Steinmeyer at the 2021 Summit League Outdoor Championships.
Finstad earned All-Summit League honors and the silver medal in the 400 meters with a time of 54.23 at the conference meet two weeks ago. She set school records in the 200 meters (23.74) and 400 meters (53.57) during the season and ranks No. 2 in the 100 meters (11.80) and No. 3 in the 4×400-meter relay (3:46.95) on the UND top-10 list. Finstad earned three 400-meter titles during the regular season.
Curry (discus), Keeler (5,000 meters) and Frida Giersdorff (3,000-meter steeplechase) will conclude UND’s stay at the NCAA West Preliminary Round on Saturday. Live results will continue to be provided by Flash Results and select events happening inside the stadium will be live streamed on ESPN+.
