DAVENPORT, Iowa – The Loras College men's and women's track & field teams traveled to Davenport, Iowa, this weekend to compete in the Finals Week Invitational, hosted by St. Ambrose University. The men and women opened up the indoor season with first place finishes in the team standings, as the men closed out competition with a score of 151, followed by the women at 174.5.

Sophomore Matt Kruse started her indoor season with a first place finish in the 400 meter, followed up with a second place finish in the 4 x 400 meter relay race with teammates Ian Lucas, Will Kieffer, and Joe Franke.

Franke finished first in the 800 meter run, closing out the race with a new personal best at 1:53.22. Senior Raymond Venditti won the pole vault competition at a height of 15'3" (4.65m), while Holden Murphy posted personal bests in back-to-back events. The senior out of Benton, Wis. broke his own school record in the weight throw at 62'7.75" (19.09m), before winning the shot put with a PR mark of 53'1.75" (16.20m).

Harmony Creasy ran the fourth-fastest 60 meter dash in program history after closing out the race first with a time of 7.71, shaving .04 seconds off her previous PR.

Loras' 4 x 400 meter relay squad of Grace Alley, Kelly Kohlhof, Layla Hughes and Creasy won the race at a time of 4:00.42 in their first action of the season. Julia Klein set three personal bests, first in the high jump where she placed first with a mark of 5'3.75" (1.62m), followed by her fourth place finish in the triple jump at 34'7" (10.54m), and lastly in the 60 meter with a time of 8.28.

Emma Seipel broke Creasy's school record in the long jump, as the junior cleared 19'11.5" (6.08m) to take first. Alley won the triple jump at a mark of 39'2.25" (11.94m), setting a PR in the event merely a day after setting the new national record in the pentathlon with a score of 3,986.

Up next, the Duhawks travel back to Davenport next month to take part in the Battle in the Hive meet on Jan. 13,2024.

Final Results – Men

60 Meters
4. Dayvion Foreman: 6.90
6. Frank Day: 7.02
8. Charlie Irwin: 7.16

200 Meters
10. Charlie Irwin: 23.45
15. Michael Coy: 23.62
20. Owen Scherff: 23.78
24. Frank Day: 24.15
25. Blake Fitzgerrel: 24.17
33. Andrew Schlemme: 24.58

400 Meters
1. Matt Kruse: 49.37
2. Ted Kruse: 50.75
3. Carson Vaske: 51.36
7. Ian Fagan: 52.27
10. DJ Almada: 53.59
14. Kyle Leatherman: 56.04

800 Meters
1. Joe Franke: 1:53.22
2. Chris Guise: 1:56.27
3. Will Kieffer: 1:58.11

60 Meter Hurdles
5. Owen Scherff: 8.84
7. Andrew Schlemme: 8.99

4 x 400 Meter Relay
2. Loras A: 3:21.21
(Ian Lucas, Matt Kruse, Will Kieffer, Joe Franke)
5. Loras C: 3:41.11
(Chris Guise, Kyle Leatherman, Michael Coy, Owen Scherff)

High Jump
6. Matthew Franz: 1.77m (5'9.75")

Pole Vault
1. Ray Venditti: 4.65m (15'3")
5. Logan Jones: 3.72m (12'2.5")
8. Ian Lucas: 3.26m (10'8.25")

Long Jump
5. Rei'Shuan Spires: 6.54m (21'5.5")
7. Daken Pessman: 6.30m (20'8")
8. Charlie Irwin: 6.20m (20'4.25")

Triple Jump
6. Rei'Shuan Spires: 13.42m (44'0.5")
12. Daken Pessman: 12.14m (39'10")

Shot Put
1. Holden Murphy: 16.20m (53'1.75")
2. Tommy Halatek: 15.09m (49'6.25")
4. Dre Jackson: 14.98m (48'10.25")
7. Carter Allen: 13.72m (45'0.25")
9. Neal Eckhoff: 13.58m (44'6.75")
13. Nick Pierro: 12.80m (42'0")

Weight Throw
1. Holden Murphy: 19.09m (62'7.75")
3. Tommy Halatek: 17.58m (57'8.25")
4. Neal Eckhoff: 17.14m (56'3")
9. Dre Jackson: 15.19m (49'10")
14. Carter Allen: 13.71m (44'11.75")
21. Nick Pierro: 12.16m (39'10.75")

Final Results – Women

60 Meters
1. Harmony Creasy: 7.71
2. Emma Seipel: 7.75
3. Kelly Kohlhof: 7.82

200 Meters
2. Harmony Creasy: 25.99
4. Kelly Kohlhof: 26.39
13. Chloe Dunigan: 27.81
18. Neveah Jones: 28.35
19. Abby Pierce: 28.59

400 Meters
2. Layla Hughes: 1:00.6

60 Meter Hurdles
4. Abby Pierce: 10.50

4 x 400-Meter Relay
1. Loras: 4:00.42
(Grace Alley, Kelly Kohlhof, Layla Hughes, Harmony Creasy)

High Jump
1. Julia Klein: 1.62m (5'3.75)
2. Sara Hoskins: 1.57m (5'1.75")
4. Grace Cummins: 1.52m (4'11.75")

Pole Vault
4. Abby Apeland: 3.17m (10'4.75")

Long Jump
1. Emma Seipel: 6.08m (19'11.5")
2. Harmony Creasy: 5.94m (19'6")

Triple Jump
1. Grace Alley: 11.94m (39'2.25")
2. Chloe Dunigan: 10.65m (34'11.25")
3. Emma Seipel: 10.57m (34'8.25")
4. Julia Klein: 10.54m (34'7")

Shot Put
2. Riley Vice: 13.10m (42'11.75")
4. Taylor Flaig: 12.55m (41'2.25"
9. Audra Gallick: 10.86m (35'7.75")
13. Caitlyn Cox: 10.15m (33'8.75")
19. Laura Benedict: 8.98m (29'5.5")

Weight Throw
2.Caitlyn Cox: 16.35m (53'7.75")
3. Taylor Flaig: 16.28m (53'5")
8. Riley Vice: 13.80m (45'3.5")
10. Audra Gallick: 12.91m (42'4.25")
12. Laura Benedict: 12.64m (41'5.75")

Pentathlon
1. Grace Alley: 3986
8. Bridgette Smith: 2347