BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 10, 2023) – Things are off to a solid start for the Loras College track & field programs as the women are tied for first and the men are alone in second place after day one of the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships.

At the end of the first day, the third-ranked Duhawk women are tied with fourth-ranked University of Chicago for the top spot with 19 points scored for each team. Loras saw three individuals earn All-America honors as two other times on the track sent individuals and relay groups into tomorrow's finals.

Sophomore Harmony Creasy earned the first All-America honor for the Duhawks this weekend, taking a runner-up finish in the long jump with a best mark of 5.82 meters, which is just 0.02 meters shy of her school-record mark. This marks the first individual All-America honor of Creasy's career for both indoor and outdoor track & field.

Senior Grace Alley set a new program record in the pentathlon with 3722 points, good enough to earn her third place in the event with All-America honors. Alley was top five in four of the five events during the pentathlon, including being third place in the shot put (11.57m), third place in the long jump (5.51m), and tied for third place in the high jump (1.64m). This is Alley's second All-America honor in the pentathlon in as many seasons after she took sixth in the event last season.

Finally, freshman thrower Caitlyn Cox capped a spectacular first collegiate indoor season with a fourth-place finish and All-America honors in the weight throw. Cox's best mark of 18.95 meters eclipsed her own program record by close to two-tenths of a meter and tied her for third in the event as she settled for fourth place via her second-best mark.

Senior Alyssa Pfadenhauer won heat No. 1 of the 400-meter dash to send her into Saturday's finals. She also joined teammates Marion Edwards, Stevie Lambe, and Elly Burds in sending the 4x400-meter group into Saturday's finals with a 3:48.24 preliminary time.

Through the first day, the second-ranked Duhawk men find themselves alone in second place with 11 points, trailing only the top-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology's 13 points.

The men's distance medley relay team capped off the day with a third-place finish in the race as senior Wyatt Kelly, freshman Easton Stackis, senior Carter Oberfoell, and junior Ryan Harvey earned All-America status with a time of 9:48.84. The top four teams all finished within a second of one another as the high podium places all came down to the very end.

Junior Derik Bunten finished off an incredible week and change for himself as he came home fourth overall in the long jump field. Bunten's best mark of 7.29 meters earned him All-America honors for the first time in his career as this, as well as his 14^th-place finish in the 60-meter dash, marked his first career appearance at a national championship meet.

Junior Holden Murphy qualified for the weight throw finals but just missed out on All-America honors as he placed ninth overall with a best mark of 18.57 meters. Senior Mike Jasa (1:50.62 – 800m), freshman Matt Kruse (47.90 – 400m), Kelly (4:07.85 – Mile), and Harvey (4:08.35 – Mile) all qualified for Saturday finals in their respective events as Jasa's time was the best in the 800-meter preliminaries.

Jasa and Kruse, along with junior Ted Kruse and senior Josh Smith, put the 4x400-meter relay team into the finals as well with their time of 3:13.38, which ranks as the best of the preliminary round.

Day two of the championships begins on Saturday, March 11 at 10 A.M. at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala.