FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The North Dakota State men's 4x400m relay is headed to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
 
In the final event of the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on Friday night, the Bison team of Adrian Harris, Jacob Levin, Jacob Rodin and Cody Roder raced to a school-record time of 3:05.57 – shattering the record they set at the Summit League Championships only 13 days ago by nearly two seconds.
 
NDSU earned the final automatic qualifying spot for the national meet by taking third place in its heat Friday, with Roder scorching the anchor leg in 45.21.
 
It will be the first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships at the Division I level for an NDSU men's 4x400m squad.
 
The relay performance was made even more impressive considering Roder and Rodin had raced in individual events less than two hours prior. Roder clocked 46.27 in the 400m dash quarterfinals, placing 22nd. He is now the owner of the three fastest 400m dash times in school history – having run all three consecutively in the past two meets.
 
Rodin finished 22nd in the 800m quarterfinals, running 1:50.92.
 
A pair of Bison men competed in the discus on Friday. Freshman Kaden Pastian finished 29th with a throw of 172-1 (52.45m), and senior Trevor Otterdahl took 36th at 168-8 (51.40m).
 
The NCAA West Preliminary Rounds will conclude on Saturday with the final day of women's events.