PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - The outdoor season continued for the Loras Track & Field program on Saturday at the UW-Platteville Invitational. Paraded as the top meet in the nation for the weekend, many of the top track and field teams in the country competed.


After winning at the Central Invitational a week ago, Loras' 4x400 team returned to the track on Saturday looking for a strong performance once again. With the same lineup, consisting of junior Stedman Foster, sophomore Brandon Gradoville, senior Zac Gassman, and senior Josh Goerdt, the Duhawks took the crown for the second week in a row, running the 400 relay in 3:16.87. They'll now turn their attention to the Drake Relays on April 23 where they will compete against some of the best competiion in Division II and III.

In the men's 3000m Steeplechase, seniors Ryan Sheeran and Adam Varnas finished second and third. Sheeran finished with a time of 10:09.06 and Varnas with a time of 10:13.26.

Goerdt added to his strong day with a second-place finish in the 400m Dash with a time of 48.88. While it wasn't a personal best, Goerdt's time is eighth best in Loras history.

Junior Zach Frey posted a second-place finish the 800m Dash with a time of 1:52.64. Like Goerdt, Frey's time wasn't a personal best, but earns him another spot in Loras top-10 in the history books.

The Duhawks brought home two top-five finishes in the 5k as freshman Justin Adams and senior Ty Wittman finished third and fifth. Adams' crossed the line in 15:34.65 and Wittman in 15:40.81.

Concluding Loras' top-five finishes, the Duhawks' 4x100 team, which consisted of senior Kyle Ward, Gradoville, Gassman, and Foster, earned a third place finish with a time of 42.93.

In the women's field, sophomore Alexis Hanson posted a fifth-place finish in the 400m Dash with a time of 59.32. Hanson was .01 seconds off from the 10th-best time in Loras history.

Sophomore Emily Day shaved five seconds off her winning 3000m Steeplechase time at the Central Invitational on Saturday, finishing third with a time of 12:10.31. Her performance puts her in fifth place in Loras history and marks a personal best.

Rounding out the running events' Loras' 4x400 team, which consisted of Hanson, junior Bree Powers, freshman Emily Ney, and senior Mercedez Kennedy, took fifth with a time of 3:59.04.

Senior Morgan Steere took home fifth place in the Shot Put with a distance of 12.65m.

Loras will compete at the University of Dubuque Invitational next Saturday before turning their attention to the Drake Relays on April 23 and the Dr. Tucker Loras Open on April 25.