Feb. 18, 2023 – Heading down the final stretch of the indoor season, No. 4 Loras College women's track and field is keeping everyone on high alert as they continued to have strong showings this Friday at each the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Indoor Eagle Open and the University of Dubuque's Soloman W. Butler Classic.

The Duhawks placed second out of eight teams at UWL on Friday evening while another group of Duhawks stayed around for the Sol Butler Classic at UD.

Indoor Eagle Open – UW-La Crosse
Senior Marion Edwards was sharp again for the Duhawks and led a strong short-distance effort, taking first place in each the 60-meter and 400-meter races. Her 7.60 time in the 60-meters is a personal best and ranks her third in Division III this season.

In the 400-meters, Edwards was the leader in a dominating performance that saw the Duhawks claim four of the top five spots. Edwards was followed by Alyssa Pfadenhauer (2^nd), Stevie Lambe (3^rd), and Aaliyah Collier (5^th).

Sophomore Harmony Creasy was second to Edwards in the 60-meter dash (despite running a personal-best 7.77), but wasn't to be denied in the 200-meter dash as she claimed the top honors with a 25.85. She also tied a personal best and helped lead the Loras field efforts as she and senior Grace Alley placed first and third in the long jump.

Loras also got event wins from sophomore Frankie Chaidez in the 800-meters (2:20.19) and senior Brianna Renner in the mile (5:16.03). Both times marked personal bests for the two runners while Renner was the leader in a group of four Duhawks to record PRs in the event, along with Emily Jackson, Becca Diddia, and Alexis Reisberg.  

The final, and perhaps the most notable, track mark for the Duhawks came from the distance medley relay team of Ellie Osterberger, Pfadenhauer, Elly Burds, and Kaylee Osterberger, as the group ran an 11:55.46. While that may have placed them last out of the three competing teams, it also ranks fourth in program history and goes to eighth in Division III this season.

In the field, it was freshman Caitlyn Cox who again stole the show and broke her own school record from just a week ago with an 18.05-meter mark in the weight throw. Cox's toss sends her to seventh in Division III this season as she took second in the event to UWL's Skye Digman.

Sara Hoskins was second in the high jump while Collier went fifth in the triple jump and Riley Vice was fifth in the shot put to round out some other notable marks for the Duhawks in field events.

Soloman W. Butler Classic – University of Dubuque
Sophomore Ali Flatter was the lone Duhawk to win an event at the Sol Butler Classic on Friday evening as she took the top honors in the 400-meters with a 1:03.71.

The Duhawks had a host of other respectable finishes scattered throughout the field, including two for junior Sophia Schuler. Schuler placed fourth in each the 200-meter dash (26.91) and the long jump (5.06m) to help showcase the Duhawks on Friday.

Other solid finishes for the Duhawks included Chloe Dunigan in the triple jump (10.52m),  Julia Klein in the high jump (1.48m), and Paige Jacobs in the mile (5:53.51) as all three freshmen placed fifth. Jacobs' time set a new personal-best.

Junior Brooke Kruse also helped lead a trio of Duhawks to make the finals in the 60-meter dash. Kruse was fifth with a 8.21 while junior Emalee Ryder was sixth with a 8.22 and Dunigan was eighth with an 8.35.

Loras heads to Buena Vista University on Friday-Saturday, Feb. 24-25 for the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Indoor Track & Field Championships.