Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Mar. 12, 2022) – Led by the historic national champion performance by Ryan Rogers in the heptathlon and five All-Americans, the Loras College men's track and field team posted its first podium finish since 1989 at the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championship, finishing fourth in the team race in the championship's return at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Rogers started Saturday's events for the Duhawks with a historic achievement, capturing the program's first heptathlon national title with a school-record 5,484 points. A personal-best 12.58 meter throw in the shot put on the first day of competition helped him enter the final three events in second place. Rogers had a strong performance in the hurdles and a disqualification for the event leader at the start of the second day's events moved him into national champion contention. Rogers ran 8.21 in the hurdles and the fifth-year senior from Dubuque locked up the title clearing 4.90 meters in the pole vault. Rogers capped off the multi with a 2:51.75 in the 1,000-meter run and finished his collegiate indoor career as a national champion. The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Field Athlete of the Year just days before the championship was an All-American with a fourth-place finish in 2019 and had goals to step on the podium again in 2020--the same facility as the weekend's championship--before the meet was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, he saw it come full circle.

The first day of the championship set the Duhawks up for success as the distance medley relay of Wyatt Kelly, Nate Sielaff, Carter Oberfoell and Ryan Harvey ran the second-fastest time in program history to place third in the event and claim All-America honors. Kelly started the Duhawks off strong in the 1,200-meter leg, putting Loras in the lead, before handing off to Sielaff for the 400-meter portion for another strong leg. Oberfoell and Harvey closed out the race with the 800 and mile sections to keep them within two seconds of the top-two teams for the podium finish.

Harvey also qualified for the finals in the mile with a time of 4:11.25 and Mike Jasa moved on to race the 800-meter finals with a time of 1:53.03. He also helped the 4-by-400-meter relay team of Josh Smith, Will Kieffer and Ted Kruse race their way into the finals of the event with a time of 3:19.88.

Harvey started off the track events for Loras in the mile finals and went out with a fast field to break his own school record for the third time this season. He crossed the line with five other runners separated by tenths of a second to finish fourth with a time of 4:07.24. The Bartlett, Ill. native collected his first individual All-America honor with the race. Jasa added another podium finish for the Duhawks in the 800-meter run, running 1:52.78 to place fourth, before he anchored the 4-by-400-meter relay team of Smith, Kruse, and Oberfoell for another All-America finish, placing fifth with a time of 3:17.77.

Though the final announcement took a bit longer due to a disqualification protest in the relay, the Duhawks ultimately had enough points to bring home the hardware, scoring 30 points. Williams College finished just ahead in third and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Washington University in St. Louis tied for the national title with 35 points each.

The championship finish closes out a tremendous indoor campaign for the Duhawks that saw multiple school records fall and two NCAA Division III all-time performances in addition to winning the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Championship. The team will now shift gears to the outdoor season and looks to carry on the momentum.