BISMARCK, N.D. — The Dickinson State men's and women's track and field teams opened the 2026 outdoor season March 21st at the Marauders Outdoor Opener with multiple event victories and scoring performances across track and field events.
The Blue Hawks were led by a dominant showing in the throws on both sides.
For the women, Chloe Gunderson earned victories in both the shot put and discus. Gunderson won the shot put with a mark of 14.18 meters, reaching the NAIA "A" standard, and followed with a discus throw of 47.42 meters, an NAIA "B" mark. Codi Nagle placed second in the shot put, while Alician Parks and Rebecca Eacker finished third and fourth, respectively.
In the hammer throw, Klaire Gunderson led a 1-2-3-4 finish with a mark of 47.60 meters. Chloe Gunderson placed second, Parks finished third and Eacker added a fourth-place effort. Nagle secured another win in the javelin with a throw of 40.77 meters, and Mya Sheldon placed second.
On the track, the women's 4x400-meter relay team of Mia Handran, Mady Willis, Lauren Taylor and Abby Talkington claimed first place in 4:15.28. Handran also finished second in the 400 meters in 1:02.46. Lauren Taylor added a third-place finish in the 1500 meters, while Taytum Stuhr and Willis scored in the hurdles. Dickinson State also earned points in the long and triple jumps behind efforts from Elsie Wilson, Karson Tempel and Talkington.
The men matched that momentum with strong performances in both relays and field events.
The 4x400-meter relay "A" team of Logan Borden, Kyler Holinde, Kohbe Smith and Hudson Atkinson placed first in 3:29.79. The Blue Hawks' "B" and "C" teams added third- and fourth-place finishes to contribute additional points.
In the sprints, Mustafa Taylor placed third in the 100 meters with a personal best of 10.76 and currently leads the Frontier Conference with his time, with Smith finishing fifth. Borden recorded a runner-up finish in the 400 meters in 51.00, and Maximus Kadrmas placed third.
The men's distance group produced a strong showing in the 1500 meters, as Holinde finished second in 4:12.08 and Atkinson placed fourth in 4:13.28.
In field events, Ethan Schiller won the triple jump with a mark of 13.12 meters and added a fourth-place finish in the long jump. The pole vault group swept the top three spots, as Ty Leischner won at 4.65 meters, Adrien Calderon placed second and Holden Will finished third.
The men's throws unit added key points throughout the meet. Dylan Dahlgren placed second in the shot put and went on to win the hammer throw with a mark of 55.81 meters, reaching the NAIA "B" standard. Ty Bennick added a runner-up finish in the hammer and placed third in the shot put. Garin Opdahl finished second in the javelin to round out the scoring.
Dickinson State will continue its outdoor schedule at the Yellowjacket Open on March 28th in Billings, M.T.
