DICKINSON, N.D. -- Montana Tech's track & field teams got off to a strong start, breaking four program records Saturday on Day 1 of the Frontier Conference outdoor championship meet at Dickinson State University. 

Ayla Janzen bested the program marks in the women's 100-meter hurdles and 100m dash, sharing the latter with Alayna Hurd. Morgan McClernan topped his own program record in the men's 110m hurdles, and Zach Merrifield shattered the Montana Tech record in the men's 100m dash. 

Tech's men sit third in the team standings with 44 points so far in the meet, while the Oredigger women are fifth with 35 points. 

The Oredigger teams combined for four runner-up finishes on the opening day, all coming in the 10,000-meter run and javelin. 

Tyra Opperman led the way in the women's javelin, setting a new personal best and moving up to No. 18 in the NAIA with her 42.39m throw. That mark improved the Bozeman native's hold on second all-time at Montana Tech and earned eight points toward the Orediggers' total. Brityn Stewart added a seventh-place finish in the event for Tech, clearing 38.51m. 

On the men's side, Tyler Crum also came up with a second-place finish in the men's javelin. The freshman hurled the implement 56.27m, just off his season best. 

On the track, another freshman set the pace for Tech in the women's 10,000m. Mya Green raced the distance in 40:38.59 to take second, while senior Alyssa Jany wasn't far behind in fourth, stopping the watch at 40:55.21. 

Senior Ben Zerr took second in the men's 10,000m at 32:26.27, while sophomore Bryon Fanning was fourth in 32:52.06. 

Elsewhere on the leaderboard, McClernan continued his fantastic senior season, leading the pack in the preliminary heats of the 110m hurdles. He crossed the line in a program-record 14.04 seconds to take the top seed into Sunday's finals. That time ranks third on the NAIA's season leaderboard and was the program's first-ever national 'A' standard in the event. A pair more Orediggers, Adam Schrader and Jacob Dolezal, will join him in the finals. 

McClernan's day wasn't done. The Butte High product also took fourth in the 400m dash. His time of 49.75 moved the senior to second all-time at Montana Tech. Fellow senior Konnor Gregerson was sixth in the race, completing the lap in 50.77. 

The men's 4x800m relay of Hayden Hollow, Tyler Inabnit, Michael Marlow, and Layne Niemeyer added to the Orediggers' point total with a fourth-place finish at 8:08.23, and Dolezal added another point in the long jump, leaping 6.51m for eighth. 

A pair of sprinters rounded out the day by qualifying for Sunday's finals in the 100m dash. Merrifield took fifth (10.49), and Jaxon Allery was seventh (10.56). Those times rank first and second in program history, and Merrifield's would have been the NAIA 'B' standard in the event if not aided by the wind. 

For the Tech women, Janzen advanced to finals in both the 100m dash and hurdles. The sophomore broke the program's 100m hurdles record at 14.51 seconds to move to No. 39 on the national leaderboard, and her 100m dash of 12.03 tied with Hurd to qualify the pair for the championship heat. Their times rank 51st in the NAIA this season. 

Junior Rylee Armstrong added a fifth-place finish in the long jump (5.54m), and the 4x800m relay of Terryn Chirrick, Amy Broek, Kamryn Comba, and Ryleigh Kleinke took fifth in 9:59.14. 

Competition in the second and final day of the championship meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Sunday at DSU's Biesiot Activities Center. 

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