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

May 17, 2022 – Adding to their list of nationally-ranked performances, the Loras College women's track and field team regained the No. 1 spot in the latest release of the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Top-25 Ratings Index on Tuesday after taking second at the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Championship to head into the final week of the regular season with momentum.

Loras added or improved on four top-20 performances at the championship meet, headlined by Grace Alley and Alyssa Pfadenhauer each adding the second-best mark in the high jump and 200-meter dash, respectively. Alley, earning the conference's Most Valuable Field Performer honors, set a school and championship record in the high jump, clearing 1.74 meters to sit second nationally in addition to winning the heptathlon and earning All-Conference in the triple jump and long jump. She currently ranks fourth in the heptathlon this season with 4,938 points and 12th in the triple jump (11.98 meters). Pfadenhauer ran 24.13 in the 200-meter dash to rank second and also ran the third-fastest time in Division III in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 54.98 to defend her conference title. She also sits 18th nationally in the 800-meter run (2:11.8) and is on both top-five relays, running the 4-by-100-meter relay with Elayna Bahl, Stevie Lambe and Marion Edwards in 46.42 to rank second and the 4-by-400-meter relay with the same group to sit third at 3:46.01. Her efforts at the championship earned her Most Valuable Track Performer.

Kassie Parker still holds the No. 1 time in the 10,000-meter run (33:03.61) and ranks second in the 5,000-meter run (16:09.66). She won both events at the conference meet and sits seventh in the 1,500-meter run (4:27.65), taking second at the conference championship. Edwards is ranked 12th in the 200-meter dash (24.52) and Lambe is 15th in the 400-meter dash (56.38) while Elayna Bahl is seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.48. Harmony Creasy adds a top-ten mark in the triple jump, going 12.04 meters to rank tenth.

Behind the Duhawks in second is the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Washington University in St. Louis in third. Johns Hopkins University is ranked fourth, followed by SUNY-Geneseo in fifth and Wartburg College, the conference champions, in sixth. The University of Dubuque moved up to seventh and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire ranks eighth, followed by Worchester Polytechnic Institute in ninth and Trine University in tenth. Nebraska Wesleyan University is another A-R-C program in the top-25, checking in at No. 20.

The Duhawks head to Augustana College on Thursday, May 19 for the Last Chance Meet and a final push to secure NCAA Division III National Championship qualifying marks. The 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Track and Field National Championship is set for Thursday, May 26-Saturday, May 28 in Geneva, Ohio at the SPIRE Institute.