FARGO, N.D. – Minnesota State Moorhead track & field began the 2026 outdoor season at the NDSU Spring Invitational. The Dragons saw numerous top ten all-time marks and events wins from Brandon Pemberton and Jadon Boots.

Sprints/Hurdles/Relays

In the women's 400m, Christalea Wagner would earn a ninth-place finish with a mark of 59.07. Liv Birkeland (59.66) and Brooke Bollman (1:01.64) would each clock personal bests as well. Frosty Wisnewski would mark a 50.93 to place fourth for the MSUM men while Preston Miller (52.53) placed ninth. 

Ahniesha Presulme would place sixth in the women's 100m hurdles behind a time of 14.68. That mark is now the eighth-fastest time in program history. Lucea Wales placed eighth in the same event with a time of 16.13. Nasir Dilworth placed seventh in the men's 110m hurdles with a time of 15.11. Dylan Harris would place fourth in the men's 400m hurdles, clocking a 58.38.

Allysah Larson would pace the Dragons in the women's 100m sprint. Larson marked a 12.18 to place sixth overall. The time now sits as the eighth-fastest time in MSUM history. Cipriana Jones would place eighth in the same event behind a time of 12.31. Brandon Pemberton would lead the Dragon men, winning the sprint with a time of 10.55. For Pemberton, the mark matches the third-fastest time in MSUM history. Teammate Isaiah Tandoh would place fourth with a dash of 10.93. 

Pemberton would also pace Moorhead in the men's 200m, winning behind a time of 21.27. The mark is the fourth-fastest in program history. Tandoh (22.13) would place seventh behind a personal best. Jones would place fifth in the same race for the Dragon women, sprinting a 25.35. Brihonne Cargill would place ninth with a sprint of 25.95. 

Moorhead's women's 4x100m relay team saw a strong start to the season, earning an event win. The quartet of Audrey Janich, Jones, Cargill and Larson clocked a 47.41 for the victory, now the fourth-fastest in MSUM history. The men's squad of Austin Weite, Tandoh, Wisnewski and Pemberton also won the event with a mark of 41.62. 

To conclude the meet on the track, Moorhead's 4x400m relay team of Wagner, Birkeland, Evelyn Nydegger and Hana Schutz placed third with a time of 4:09.97. The men's outfit of Harris, Aurek Zielinski, Aidan Fitts and Wisnewski would place runner-up at 3:26.72. 

Jumps/Vaults

McKenna Schreiber would see a sixth-place finish in women's long jump behind a top leap of 17-04.25 (5.29m). Chioma Onyeaghala (5.22m) and Kaitlyn McConnell (5.03m) would each set outdoor bests, finishing eighth and ninth respectively. Abigail Walton (4.70m) would record a personal best in the same event. 

Fitts would guide the Dragons in men's triple jump, traveling 43-02.25 (13.16m) to place third. Rollie Hanna (12.89m) would place fourth in the same event. Presulme would lead the Dragon women, placing third with a personal best jump of 39-01.25 (11.92m). The leap for the junior is now the second-best in program history. Larson would place fourth with a personal best 38-11.5 (11.87m), now the third-best in MSUM history. Schreiber (10.62m) would place ninth in the same event. 

Nicholas Huss would lead the Dragon vaulters, placing second with a clearance of 13-09.25 (4.20m). Noah Novotny (4.05m) would place fourth on the men's side as well. Leya Teicher would be the top Dragon on the women's side, clearing 10-06 (3.20m). 

Tate Rasmussen would lead the Dragons in men's high jump, placing fourth with a clearing of 6-04.75 (1.96m). An unattached Jasiah Hambira would win the event with a personal best leap of 7-00.25 (2.14m). Hunter Petersen would place fourth on the women's side with a jump of 5-01 (1.55m). 

Throws

The lone event contested on Saturday was men's and women's hammer throw. Sophomore Justin Jacobson would lead the Dragons in the event, finishing third with a personal best mark of 183-06 (55.93m). That throw is now the fourth-best in MSUM history. Also on the men's side, Jack Stewart (46.55m) and Landon Nicholas (40.86m) set new personal bests. On the women's side, Kiley Kranz would set a new personal best mark of 141-0 (42.98m). Avah Cotton (37.79m) and Hailey Neumann (35.44m) also set collegiate benchmarks in the event. 

Neumann would lead Moorhead's efforts in women's javelin, placing sixth behind a throw of 125-09 (38.33m). Cotton (33.95m) would place ninth overall while Ayden Ochs (22.28m) would set a new personal best. Kranz would shine for Moorhead in women's shot put, placing sixth with an outdoor personal best of 43-11.75 (13.40m). The mark moves Kranz to third all-time in program history. 

Jacobson would see a strong season debut in men's discus, earning sixth-place marks. The sophomore had a top attempt of 162-09 (49.62m), which is now the fourth-best in program history. Stewart (39.37m) would register another personal best in the same event. In men's shot put, both Logan Burns (13.43m) and Stewart (13.23m) would each set new personal bests. 

Distance

Kaela Traugott would place eighth in women's steeplechase, clocking a 12:17.52 finishing time. Janis Riekstins would place seventh in the men's competition, finishing at 9:52.71. Katelyn Kennedy would see a runner-up result in the women's 1500m, clocking a personal best 4:43.55. That time is now the seventh-fastest time in MSUM history. Logan Martinez (4:02.42) and Bridger Larson (4:02.55) would finish fifth and sixth respectively on the men's side. 

Jadon Boots would win the men's 800m, setting an MSUM best time of 1:52.17. For Boots, the mark ranks ninth all-time in MSUM history. Rory Richardson placed eighth in the same event with a mark of 1:56.46. Moorhead had four top ten finishers in the men's 5000m, led by James Dorado (15:24.77) in a third-place effort. Luke Buentello (15:39.14), Seth Meikle (16:11.09) and Hunter Haugen (16:22.75) would place sixth, eighth and ninth respectively. 

Up Next

The Dragons are in for a busy week of competition with a pair of meets on the schedule. Moorhead competes at the Dewey Donat Classic on Thursday while a small group will also compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational in California.