Daniel Welter

Jackson’s Record Toss Sparks Strong Showing for Duhawks in Pella

April 17, 2026

PELLA, Iowa – The Loras College men's track and field team turned in a strong showing Thursday at the Dutch Weather Saver Invitational, hosted by Central College, highlighted by a record-breaking performance and a wave of personal-best marks.

DreAnthony Jackson led the way for the Duhawks, breaking a 22-year-old program record in the shot put with a personal-best throw of 17.50 meters, a mark that currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season. Carter Allen added to the momentum with a dominant day in the throws, winning both the discus and hammer throw while recording a personal-best 52.18 meters in the discus and a mark of 52.93 meters in the hammer. Nick Pierro and Braxton Nelson also posted personal bests, with Pierro reaching 38.58 meters in discus and 45.30 meters in hammer, while Nelson recorded marks of 10.62 meters in shot put and 33.88 meters in discus.

In the jumps, Tre'jon Igess paced a trio of lifetime-best performances in the long jump, placing second with a leap of 7.01 meters, which ranks 10th in program history. Daken Pessman followed with a personal-best 6.84 meters, and Liam Kelso added a mark of 6.61 meters. Igess also moved up the program record book in the triple jump, posting a personal-best 14.28 meters to rank second all-time.

Steve Edwards and Andrew Schlemme contributed season-best marks in the high jump, finishing third and fifth, respectively, with clearances of 1.81 meters and 1.65 meters. On the track, Loras saw a surge of personal-best performances in the sprints, led by Casey Tath, who swept the 100 and 200 meters and clocked a lifetime-best 10.63 seconds in the 100. Ian Fagan (10.77), Charlie Irwin (10.88), Louis Zeitler (11.23), and Jonah Irving (11.72) each added personal-best times in the 100, while Irwin (22.33) and Zeitler (22.67) also set personal records in the 200.

Zeke Irving led the way in the 400 meters with a first-place finish in 48.08, joined by personal-best efforts from Matthew Hanselman (52.64) and Enoch Thielhelm (55.19). In the middle-distance events, Aiden Ruiz placed fourth in the 800 meters with a personal-best 1:54.55, while Gavin Denholm followed with a time of 1:58.76.

Schlemme and Hanselman continued their strong days in the hurdles, recording personal bests in the 110-meter (15.96) and 400-meter (1:02.16) hurdles, respectively. The distance events added to the tally of top performances, as Jack Ruswick (4:26.38), Ben Ritter (4:26.76), and Ethan Stasch (4:35.84) each recorded personal bests in the 1,500 meters. Brayden Frey capped the meet with a personal-best 9:44.97 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.