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

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Mar. 12, 2022) – The last time the Loras College women's track and field team competed at an NCAA Division III indoor track and field championship was in 2019 and the team made history with the program's first podium finish, placing fourth. When they went to chase the national title, the championship was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The third time was the charm and after a two-year break and two historic outdoor championship crowns, the Duhawks made history once again, winning the 2022 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field National Championship on Saturday with national champion performances by Kassie Parker, Alyssa Pfadenhauer and the 4-by-400-meter relay in a dominant display at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Parker started what would be a historic run on Friday evening when she claimed the first podium spot of the day and found herself at the top, running 16:15.97 for a championship-record time in the 5,000-meter run. Parker led for the majority of the race before Ari Marks of Wellesley College took the lead for two laps at the 4,200-meter mark, but the senior from Guttenberg, Iowa came charging back to take the lead and win her first indoor title for her career and the first in program history for the women's program in the event.

Almost an hour later, Parker took to the track again in one of the most thrilling races of the evening in the distance medley relay, anchoring the relay to finish second and earn All-America honors. Ellie Osterberger started off the relay with the 1,200-meter leg with a strong run and Merryl Green followed up with a great 400-meter leg. Alyssa Pfadenhauer's 2:09.47 split in the 800-meter leg brought the Duhawks from tenth to third before Parker and Wartburg College's Aubrie Fisher battled it out at the finish.

When Parker stepped up to the staring line for the 3,000-meter run on Saturday, she knew there was a talented field ready to go with her and turn it into a race, just as the later laps of the 5,000-meter run had been a day prior. She took the field out fast and held the lead through the mile before Johns Hopkins University's Ella Barran made a move with Claremont Mud Scripps' Emily Clarke. Parker made her move on the final lap to overtake the field and cross the finish line as the national champion, running 9:43.83 and defending her No. 1 seed in both events. She is now the third woman in NCAA Division III history to complete the distance double.
In her first outing at the indoor championship, Alley claimed All-America honors in the pentathlon, capping her day with a personal best in the 800-meter run to finish six with 3,520 total points. She ran 9.43 in the 60-meter hurdles, cleared in 1.57 meters in the high jump, and had the farthest toss in the shot put, throwing 11.33 meters, and went 5.17 meters in the long jump. In the 800-meter run, she ran 2:23.69 to finish second in an excellent finish.

Marion Edwards secured herself a spot in the 60-meter dash finals with a time of 7.68, a personal best ranking third in program history, and the 4-by-400-meter relay of Stevie Lambe, Harmony Creasy, Elayna Bahl and Edwards ran 3:52.32 to advance to Saturday's finals.

Opening competition for the Duhawks once again on Saturday, Alley added another All-America honor to her resume in the triple jump, leaping 12.03 meters, just off her personal best, to place third. Pfadenhauer started the Duhawks off on a high note in the running events and set the tone for the day's competition, coming away as the national champion in the 400-meter dash with a school-record time of 55.52. The Burlington, Iowa native edged the second-place finisher, Kayla Armstrong of Concordia University Chicago by 0.02 seconds and captured her first individual national title after coming away as the runner-up outdoors in the event.

Edwards added an indoor All-America honor to her resume with a seventh-place finish in the 60-meter dash, running 7.69. After Parker followed with the win in the 3,000-meter run, Edwards, Pfadenhauer, Bahl and Lambe knew the team title was locked up heading into the 4-by-400-meter relay, but the quartet was ready to make a statement. Lambe got the Duhawks off and running before handing off to Bahl who moved the team into second ahead of the third leg for Edwards. Edwards kept them in the hunt before Pfadenhauer took off and pulled ahead of SUNY-Geneseo for the anchor leg, clocking the Duhawks at 3:46.45 to crush the school record and run the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division III history. Loras had held command of the event all season long and finished the indoor campaign in the same position.

The Duhawks scored 59 points to win the meet, putting a 15-point gap on the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in second. Ithaca College finished third with 40 points and Johns Hopkins placed fourth with 33. The win is the fourth podium finish for Loras in program history and the third-consecutive national championship title between indoor and outdoor championships.

After being ranked top-five all season long, the 2022 indoor season saw Loras continue the momentum from their national title run outdoors and make history with the program's first American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Indoor Championship title on Feb. 26. The Duhawks celebrated Parker as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Track Athlete of the Year and head coach Matt Jones bringing home the Head Coach of the Year award for both the region and conference. Parker and Pfadenahuer were the conference's most valuable track performers and Alley was the A-R-C Field Athlete of the Year. The Duhawks now turn their focus to the outdoor season and look to add a third outdoor title to their growing list of accolades.