TOLEDO, Ohio -  North Dakota State freshman Lauren Rice placed third in the 10,000 meter run in a personal best time of 36:29.34 to lead the team on the first day of the Summit League Championships.  Rice's time is sixth on the school's all-time performance charts.

With three events scored, the Bison sit in fifth place with 11 points.  Southern Utah is in first with 48 points.

In the javelin, senior Courtney Carpenter finished fifth with a personal best throw of 135 feet.  Senior Heather Zander also picked up a point for the Bison after coming in eighth with a mark of 115-10.

Zander also leads the heptathlon after the first four events with a score of 3,140 points.  She won the 100 meter hurdles in 14.31 and the 200 meters in 24.76.  She tied for second in the high jump (5-1 ¾) and was second in the shot put (36-1 ¼). 

Freshman Emily Stalpes sits fifth in the heptathlon with 2,623 points.  She posted her highest finish of the day in the high jump, tying Zander for second with a leap of 5-1 ¾.

Championship action continues Friday, May 14.  The heptathlon will conclude at 11 a.m. Central, while field events start at 2 p.m. Running events begin at 3:30 p.m.