(Parker image credits: David Kiefer, Stanford University)

April 23, 2023 – No. 2 Loras College women's track & field might have had the most successful weekend in the country as the Duhawks finished second at the Augustana College Meet of Champions while graduate student Kassie Parker set the Division III record in the 5k at Stanford University's Payton Jordan Invitational.

Parker's 5k-record time of 15:37.00 in Palo Alto, Calif. marks the second time this season that she has set a Division III all-time record after she set the 10k record on March 31 on the very same track at the Stanford Invitational. The Guttenberg, Iowa native now holds both records and is the top-ranked runner in both events for the 2023 season after placing seventh out of 34 total 5k runners at the event.

While she was taking care of business out west, her second-ranked Duhawk teammates were taking care of business in Rock Island, Ill. by taking second place out of 22 teams at the Meet of Champions. With 159 team points, the Duhawks were eclipsed only by Division I University of Northern Iowa's 163 points in a close battle between the two. Western Illinois University finished in third place with a total of 73 team points.

Loras claimed the top spot on the podium in four events as a win in the 4x100-meter relay helped jumpstart Friday's action. Sophomore Harmony Creasy and seniors Marion Edwards, Stevie Lambe, and Gabrielle Noland laid down a time of 46.64 to take first out of the 11 relay teams, marking the fourth-fastest time in program history and the second-fastest time in Division III this season.

Creasy was just beginning another successful day for her as she later went on to win the long jump with a best mark of 5.85 meters, which ties her season-high and ranks fourth in Division III. The sophomore standout also placed fourth out of 64 runners in the 100-meter dash and was sixth out of 84 runners in the 200-meter dash.

The most dominating effort of the day for Loras came in the 3000-meter steeplechase as seniors Ellie Osterberger, Brianna Renner, and Kaylee Osterberger finished 1-2-3 in the 15-runner field. Ellie Osterberger led the brigade with an 11:08.33 time that is 27^th-best in Division III this season and ranks second all-time at Loras.

Loras' final win came from freshman Elly Burds as her 2:15.48 time in the 800-meters was the best of all 43 competitors. Graduate student Valerie Herbst ran a 2:21.59 to finish sixth in the event.

There were plenty of other notable Duhawk finishes on Friday and Saturday, including a runner-up finish in the high jump (1.62m) and a third-place finish in the triple jump (11.07m) for sophomore Aaliyah Collier. Collier was third in the triple jump behind junior De'ja Austin-Cherry, who finished second with a best mark of 11.50 meters.

Freshman Caitlyn Cox was also a runner-up as she placed there in the weight throw with a best toss of 48.60 meters while junior Taylor Flaig was right behind her with a 48.33-meter mark to finish third.

Two Duhawks also competed at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's Phil Esten Challenge over the weekend, headlined by a 23^rd-place finish and a 38:08.86 time for senior Alexis Riesberg in the 10k. The time ranks ninth in program history in Riesberg's first ever collegiate 10k attempt.

Loras is in action again next weekend at the famed Drake Relays from Thursday-Saturday, April 27-29, in Des Moines, Iowa.