DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – The Duhawk Track & Field team began a stretch of three straight Dubuque meets with the University of Dubuque Invitational hosted at Chalmers Field. The final results proved that Loras is focused and ready for the Outdoor Iowa Conference Championships in May. The men's team took first with a team score 231.5 points while the women took second with 156 points.

The women's team posted three individual wins as well as taking the 4x100 crown. In the 200m Dash, junior Bree Powers ousted the rest of the field with a time of 25.96. Joining her in the winner's circle was sophomore Elizabeth Brandenburg, who claimed victory in the 100m hurdles (14.97) and pole vault (3.55m).

Loras' 4x100 relay team also took home top honors. With the team consisting of Brandenburg, Powers, sophomore Alexis Hanson, and freshman Devin Hasson, Loras posted a time of 49.57. Additionally, the 4x400 team of Hanson, freshman Emily Ney, senior Mercedez Kennedy, and Power took the crown with a time of 4:01.58.

Right on Brandenburg's heels in the 100m hurdles was sophomore Audrey Hooks with a time of 15.26. Both Brandenburg and Hooks' time puts them at fifth and sixth in the record books respectively.

Before Powers won the 200, the junior took second in the 100, posting a time of 12.82. Hanson posted a PR in the 200 (26.10) and split 57 seconds for the first time in her career as a part of the 4x100 relay.

In the long sprints, freshman Sydney Brokaw finished third in the 800m with a time of 2:27.65. The Loras women dominated the 100m hurdle finals with five of eight competitors representing the purple and gold. Finishing behind Brandenburg and Hooks was senior Emily Ruhser (16.43), Hasson (16.58) and senior Emily Sotelo (16.68).

Sotelo added to her day later, finishing second in the 400m hurdles with a time of 1:07.24.

In the field events, top three finishes came from senior Shay Coleman in the triple jump with a distance of 11.13m, which is a PR by .23cm and places her sixth all-time in Loras history.

Senior Morgan Steere finished third in the discus with a throw of 35.73m and finished third in the shot put with a distance of 13.24m. Her mark in the shot put was a personal best and placed her sixth all-time in Loras history.

On the men's side, Loras posted four individual victories as well as a win in the 4x400 relay. Junior Zach Frey added another win to his total in the 800m, finishing with a time of 1:56.25. Fellow junior Keontae Neely posted the top mark in the long jump, setting a PR with 6.93m.

Senior Nathan Maiers was the winner in the hammer throw, topping 48.16m, coming within one meter of his season best mark of 48.97m. In the javelin, junior Evan Rossing added to last week's mark at the UW-Platteville Invitational, throwing for a distance of 50.99m, besting the second place finished by nearly five meters.

For the third week in a row, Loras stole the show with the 4x400, despite splitting the top team into two groups. Loras' 'A' team won the race with a time of 3:23.18, while the 'B' squad took second (3:25.50). The 'A' team was made up of junior Stedman Foster, Frey, sophomore Brandon Gradoville, and freshman Kylian Lally, while the second team was comprised of senior Zac Gassman, senior Josh Goerdt, sophomore Tim Wittman, and junior Sam Whan.

There was no shortage of impressive performances on the men's side. The short sprints included top-three finishes from Gassman in the 100m dash (second place, 11.27) and sophomore Brandon Gradoville in the 200m dash (second place, 22.38). Gradoville's time in the 200 was a personal best and just narrowly missed out on Loras' all-time top-10 list by .02 seconds.

The Duhawks went 1-2-3 in the 800m with Frey coming in first, freshman Kyllian Lally finishing second with a time 1:58.48, and Tim Wittman finishing third in 1:58.91. In the 1500, Loras went 2-3 with junior Sam Whan finishing second in 4:01.71 and senior Adam Varnas finishing third with a time of 4:08.59. Whan dropped six full seconds from his time at the UW-Platteville Invitational, inching closer to his personal best, set at the North Central Last Chance Qualifier last year. Sophomore Nate Kimbrell shaved nearly five seconds off his previous best in the 1500m, finishing fifth with a time of 4:09.31.

In the men's 5k, sophomore Ben Hedges finished second with a time of 16:24.89, cutting nearly eight seconds off his previous best. The hurdles included top-three finishes from freshman Gerrand Moody in the 110m hurdles with a second-place time of 15.61. Finishing in third was junior Jake Brock who finished in 16.45. Brock also finished second in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.05 with freshman Andrew O'Neill finishing just behind Brock in with a time of 59.16.

In the field, top-three performers included junior Greg Cox in the high jump, clearing a height of 1.78m, which was good for third place. Junior Devan Kennedy finished second in the pole vault with a height of 4.35m while Neely followed up his winning performance in the long jump with a second place performance in the triple jump, leaping a distance of 13.19m.

In the throws discipline, senior Jordan Burkohlder placed second in the discus with a throw of 46.17m, setting a season's best mark in the process. Sophomore Andy Reed's 44.59m mark in the javelin cleared his previous best by two meters, putting him in third place.

Despite a second place finish in the 4x100, Loras' team of senior Kyle Ward, Gradoville, Goerdt and Gassman finished with a time of 42.14, which puts them at fifth all-time in Loras history.

Loras will be represented at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, beginning on Thursday, while also hosting the Dr. Tucker Invitational on Saturday in the Rock Bowl. As a part of the day's festivities, the graduating seniors will be honored prior to the beginning of the meet. The meet is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.