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A-R-C 4x400m Track Men's
Kylie Macziewski

No. 4 Men’s Track & Field Places Second in A-R-C Championships

May 14, 2023

By: Troy Weiman | Director of Athletic Communications
DECORAH, Iowa (May 14, 2023) – Fourth-ranked Loras College men's track & field earned a runner-up finish at this weekend's American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) outdoor championships after jumping one place in the standings on the final day.

The Duhawks were in third place at the end of two days of action, but did enough on Saturday to leapfrog the University of Dubuque for second place with 177 total points to the Spartans' 146. Both teams finished behind 10th-ranked Wartburg College's 241 points as the Knights claimed their 12th conference title.

Loras claimed six event titles over the weekend, including three on Friday as junior Derik Bunten started it all off with a bets mark of 7.11 meters. He was joined by junior Holden Murphy with another field title as Murphy took the discus with a 49.33-meter mark.

A third Friday title came courtesy of the 4x800-meter relay squad as seniors Shane McBride, Carter Oberfoell, Mike Jasa, and junior Ryan Harvey took the win with a 7:34.18 that is second-best in program history.

On Saturday, Jasa made his presence known yet again as he took top honors in the 800-meters yet again. The senior's 1:48.01 time was less than a second better than the next two finishers that included his teammate Oberfoell in third place with a career-best 1:48.79.

Jasa and Oberfoell also helped lift the 4x400-meter relay team to a win to end the meet as the duo teamed with senior Josh Smith and junior Ted Kruse to run a 3:10.80 time to outpace the Wartburg team by less than a second. That time is the fifth-fastest time in Division III this season.

Loras' final title came in the pole vault from senior Ray Venditti as he cleared 4.85-meters on his second attempt to take the top spot. The senior also took second place in the high jump on Friday with a clearance of 2.02 meters.

The Duhawks have just a few days until the NCAA Division III National Championship qualifying deadline. Loras has three last chance meets scheduled for Thursday, May 18 as it makes a final push to earn as many qualifications as possible.