AURORA, Ill. (Jan. 28, 2023) – Even with a split squad on Saturday, the fourth-ranked Loras College women's track and field team came just a few points shy of capturing yet another meet title as the Duhawks settled for second at the Aurora University Grand Prix.

The Duhawks finished the day with 119.5 points, second only to 125.5 from the University of Chicago, who ranks fifth nationally. Loras saw five individuals combine for six event victories at the meet, while the 4x400-meter relay team claimed a victory as well to run the team total to seven.

Senior sprinter Marion Edwards led the way for the Duhawks with two event victories on Saturday as she took the top spot in each the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Her times not only sent her to the top of the respective scoresheets on Saturday, but also made waves in the school record book and the national qualifying lists.

Edwards' 7.68 in the 60 meters tied her indoor career-best and ranks her second nationally in the event while her 24.92 in the 200 meters sent her up the leaderboard to fourth in the country. That time also moves her to second on Loras' all-time list.

Edwards was also a member of the race-winning 4x400-meter relay team that capped off the day with a 3:52.80 time to take first. The team of Edwards, sophomore Harmony Creasy and seniors Merryl Green and Alyssa Pfadenhauer sit third nationally in that event after their win on Saturday.

Senior Brianna Renner claimed the only other individual win on the track for the Duhawks as she came home first in the 300-meter run. Renner's 10:17.27 time marked a personal best and keeps her at fifth all-time in program history.

Creasy finished tops in the long jump on Saturday after her 5.54-meter mark was more than a half-meter better than Carthage College's Christina Hall in second place. Creasy and Duhawk teammate Grace Alley combined to sweep the long jump and triple jump events as Alley took the top spot in the triple jump with an 11.64-meter mark.

Freshman Caitlyn Cox rounded out the Duhawk victories with a win in the weight throw thanks to a 17.04-meter mark on her second attempt of the day. Even after fouling on each of her three attempts in the finals, that mark held up as the best out of all 44 student-athletes in the event.

Loras kept a handful of athletes closer to home on Saturday to compete in the University of Dubuque's Spartans Invite. Junior Emalee Ryder earned a top 10 in the women's long jump to lead the team of mostly throwers as sophomore Riley Vice was the Loras leader in the shot put and junior Laura Benedict was tops on the team in the weight throw.

The Duhawks will compete again next weekend as some will head to the Wartburg College Select Invite on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 3-4 in Waverly, Iowa.