Jadyn Keeler was named the Summit League Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Year, league officials announced on Mar. 23. The honor comes after a senior season in which Keeler broke multiple school records and won several Summit League championships for North Dakota.
Keeler earned her second consecutive Second Team All-America recognition by finishing 12th in the women’s 5000-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with a time of 15:40.81. She is notable as the first Fighting Hawk to compete in a track event at the indoor national meet since North Dakota joined Division I, and only the fourth athlete from UND to participate in this meet overall.
Earlier in the season, Keeler entered nationals ranked 15th after posting a qualifying time of 15:14.76 at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston. This performance set a new UND school record and was one of three records she broke during her senior campaign, including those for the mile (4:39.06) and 3000-meter run (8:50.45). Her time in the 3000 meters marked her as the first athlete from North Dakota collegiate athletics to finish under nine minutes.
At this year’s Summit League Indoor Track and Field Championships, Keeler repeated as gold medalist in three events—the mile (4:39.69), 3000 meters (9:19.62), and 5000 meters (15:56.90)—earning another triple crown and three more All-Summit League honors.
She concludes her indoor career as a two-time Second Team All-American, six-time Summit League champion, six-time recipient of Peak Performer of the Week honors within The Summit League Women’s Track category, two-time MVP for women’s track within The Summit League, and now twice recognized as Women’s Track Athlete of the Year by The Summit League.
North Dakota track and field will begin its outdoor season with meets scheduled at both Stanford Invitational and Triton Invitational on April 3 and April 4.
