GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The Dickinson State men's and women's indoor track and field teams competed Friday at the UND Open, taking on a large and competitive field as part of the early portion of the 2026 indoor season.
The UND Open featured more than 800 competitors and provided the Blue Hawks with an opportunity to compete against deep fields across all event areas. Dickinson State used the meet to continue building consistency while managing travel demands and event loads.
Caleb Sarsland delivered the top performance of the meet for the Blue Hawks in the men's 3,000 meters. Sarsland won the event with a time of 8:21.93, setting a new Dickinson State school record. The performance currently ranks fourth in the NAIA and continues Sarsland's strong start to the indoor season in the distance events. Jacob Littleton also competed in the event, recording a personal best.
Dickinson State posted several solid efforts in the sprints and middle-distance races. Quentin Lewis ran a personal-best 49.85 in the men's 400 meters, a time that ranks inside the NAIA top 75. Logan Borden added a personal best in the same event with 51.62. In the men's 800 meters, Hudson Atkinson recorded a season-best time with 1:58.20, while Kyler Holinde posted a personal best with 2:00.03.
On the women's side, Mia Handran led the 800-meter group with a season-best time of 2:19.32, which ranks inside the NAIA top 35. Mady Willis recorded a personal best in the 400 meters with 1:01.46 and also competed in the hurdles and pole vault. Loli Jarrett (2:27.33) and Kheyerah Bilger (2:46.62) added efforts in the mile and 800 meters.
Faith Sullivan Brennan had a productive meet across multiple events. Brennan advanced to the finals in the women's 60-meter hurdles after running a personal-best 8.87 in the preliminaries, a mark that ranks inside the NAIA top 20. She finished seventh in the finals and also placed sixth in the long jump and second in the triple jump.
The Blue Hawks were consistent in the field events. In the women's shot put, Codi Nagle placed third with a personal-best throw of 13.71 meters (44.98 feet), a provisional qualifying mark for the NAIA Indoor Championships. Dylan Dahlgren led the men's throws group, placing second in the weight throw with 18.66 meters (61.22 feet) and competing in the shot put and discus.
In the jumps, Ty Leischner placed sixth in the men's high jump with 1.96 meters (6.43 feet), while Kohbe Smith posted a season-best mark in the long jump and placed eleventh in the triple jump at 6.74 meters (22.11 feet). Dickinson State also saw efforts from Holden Will, placing eighth at 4.12 meters (13.517 feet) and Taylynd Stuhr (3.03 meters (9.941 feet)) in the pole vault.
Head coach Shayne Wittkopp said, "Excellent performances for a couple of our athletes. Caleb Sarsland broke the school record in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 8:21.93 and is currently ranked inside the top five in the nation. Codi Nagle also had a standout performance with a provisional qualifying mark in the shot put. Faith Brennan ran a provisional mark in the 60 meter hurdles. With that said it was a long trip and it was a good exercise in managing that challenge for our athletes. The meet was very large with over 800 competitors and the competition was a great opportunity for the Blue Hawks. We'll be excited to take the entire team out to Fargo this coming week."
