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

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. (Apr. 23, 2022) – The No. 1 Loras College women's track and field team put together another dominant performance at the Augustana College Meet of Champions on Friday and Saturday, headlined by a school-record performance by Grace Alley in the heptathlon and multiple student-athletes improving on their nationally-ranked marks as the Duhawks showcased their depth and talents. 

Starting off the weekend for the Duhawks was Alley in the heptathlon, competing in her first multi-event of the outdoor season after an All-American finish in the pentathlon indoors. She tied the school record in the high jump, clearing 1.69 meters, a mark that had held for nearly ten years, en route to breaking the school record with 4,938 points and putting herself second in Division III this season.

Elayna Bahl won the 100-meter hurdles in 14.69 seconds and Merryl Green added a third-place finish with a time of 15.69. Green added a win in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a 1:06.26 and Alyssa Pfadenhauer ran 24.78 to place second in the 200-meter dash, followed by Stevie Lambe with a lifetime best 24.84 to place third, moving into fifth on Loras' all-time list and 11th nationally. Ellie Osterberger finished second in the 800-meter run (2:20.61) and Marianne Gleason finished third in the 1,500-meter run (5:06.11). The relays had strong performances as well as the 4-by-100-meter quartet of Pfadenhauer, Lambe, Kelly Kohlhof and Marion Edwards ran 46.77 to rank fourth in program history and second in Division III. The 4-by-400-meter relay of Green, Osterberger, Lambe and Harmony Creasy ran 3:56.43 to finish first.

It was another successful weekend of field events for the Duhawks as De'ja Austin Cherry improved on her nationally-ranked mark with another giant leap in the triple jump, going 11.83 meters to move up to No. 11 in the nation. Creasy won the long jump with the third-farthest jump in program history, jumping 5.69 meters and moving into ninth nationally in the event. Maya Van Erp finished third in the javelin (30.50 meters) and Taylor Flaig finished third in the hammer throw with a toss of 44.84 meters.

The Duhawks won the meet with 210 points while the University of Wisconsin-Platteville finished second (129 points) and Monmouth College finished third (115 points).

The Duhawks will split the squad between the Drake Relays and Simpson College's Kip Janvrin Invite with the relays starting on Thursday, Apr. 28 and Kip Janvrin on Friday, Apr. 29. The relays wrap up on Saturday, Apr. 30.