DAVENPORT, Iowa (Jan. 15, 2023) – The winter season is fully underway after a strong outing from the Loras College women's track and field team on Saturday as the defending NCAA Division III National Champions stormed to a win at St. Ambrose University's Battle in the Hive.

The Duhawks crowded the tops of their respective event scoresheets on Saturday to rack up 188 team points and take the top spot in the seven-team meet. The hosting Fighting Bees finished in second place with 117 points.

Eight events were claimed by individuals or relay teams wearing purple and gold on Saturday. To finish the day in emphatic fashion, the 4x400-meter relay B team of senior Grace Alley, freshman Elly Burds, senior Merryl Green, and sophomore Aliyah Collier took first place with a 4:01.01 time.

All four individuals on that relay team enjoyed plenty of success in their own rights on Saturday as well. Alley was a winner in the triple jump from much earlier in the day, leading the way for a 1-2-3-4 finish for Loras with a 11.34-meter jump that she managed twice in her six attempts.

Alley also earned a runner-up finish in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing only behind her relay teammate Green, who paced all runners with a 9.80 time.

In four races as a Duhawk, Burds is yet to finish anywhere other than first as she again paired her team's relay victory with a win for herself in the 600-meter run. Burds' 1:38:38 time places her second on the program's all-time list behind senior Alyssa Pfadenhauer, who finished second to Burds on Saturday.

Collier, another newcomer to the Duhawks, earned a third-place finish in the high jump on Saturday, coming in behind a Duhawk teammate in junior Sara Hoskins. Hoskins cleared the 1.60-meter jump on her first attempt, giving her the win over Sauk Valley Community College's Teagan Meyers.

Along with Hoskins, junior Taylor Flaig claimed another field victory for the Duhawks as she also led off for a 1-2-3-4 Loras finish in the weight throw. Flaig's 16.49-meter throw is a new career-best and elevates her two spots to No. 7 on the program's all-time list.

Senior Kaylee Osterberger (5:13.36) was a winner in the women's mile while freshman Emily Jackson (2:31.36) won her first ever track race as a Duhawk, taking the top spot in the 800-meter run.

Loras will split up next weekend as some Duhawks will head to Iowa City for the University of Iowa's Larry Wieczorek Invitational on Friday-Saturday, Jan. 20-21, while others will stay closer to home and compete in the University of Dubuque Open on Saturday, Jan. 21.