BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 11, 2023) – The Duhawks gave it all they had, but they fell just a handful of points shy on Saturday as the second-ranked Loras College track & field team completed the indoor portion of the 2023 season in a tie for third at the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Duhawks totaled 32 points across the two-day event at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., placing them in a tie for third with SUNY Geneseo. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse claimed the championship with 35 points while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) finished in second place with a final tally of 34.5 points.

Loras finished the meet with one national champion and six total All-America-worthy performances, two of which came on Friday from junior Derik Bunten (long jump) and the men's distance medley relay team (see Day 1 Recap).

On Saturday, senior Mike Jasa stole the show for Loras and ran away in the men's 800-meter finals to claim the national championship in that event. Jasa's time of 1:49.30 narrowly edges out his own school record and sets a new championship meet record.

This championship marks the second of Jasa's collegiate career after taking the 800-meter championship in outdoor track & field in 2021.

Jasa also served as part of the 4x400-meter relay team that placed third in Saturday's finals after racing its way into the field during Friday's preliminaries. The group of junior Ted Kruse, senior Josh Smith, Jasa, and freshman Matt Kruse earned All-America status and set a time of 3:12.07 to mark a new school record and be one of four times during the closing race on Saturday to eclipse the previous championship meet record.

The younger Kruse brother also left his mark on his first ever NCAA championships as an individual, placing seventh overall in the 400-meter finals. Kruse's 47.90 in Friday's preliminary round ties him with Patrick Mikel atop the Loras program record book.

One other Duhawk earned All-America status on Saturday as senior Wyatt Kelly took sixth place in the men's mile. Kelly outpaces his own school record time with a 4:06.99 in the finals. Junior Ryan Harvey made the finals but just missed out on the podium as he finished ninth with a 4:09.92.

This is the second season in a row that the men's indoor track & field team has trophied at the national meet. The Duhawks were fourth as a team at the indoor championships last year in Winston-Salem, N.C.

With another strong season completed, the Duhawks will get a break before shifting their focus to the outdoor season. Loras starts its march toward the NCAA Division III outdoor championships on Saturday, April 5, at the Wartburg College Select.