ROCHESTER, N.Y. – American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) student-athletes had a great showing at the 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The 86 track and field athletes competed in 39 different events and brought home 37 All-American honors, both individual and relay. On the women’s side, there were 24 All-Americans, two national runner ups, and six national champions. The men’s side saw 13 All-Americans, including two national runner ups. Additionally, the Loras Duhawk women finished the team race as national runner up.
 

Men's Team Standings				Women's Team Standings
Place	School	Points		Place	School	Points
10th	Wartburg	20		2nd	Loras	58
t-25th	Loras	10		6th	Wartburg	29
t-34th	Nebraska Wesleyan	8		t-11th	Dubuque	18
t-40th	Central	6		16th	Nebraska Wesleyan	13
72nd	Simpson	2		t-31st	Central	8
t-73rd	Luther	1		t-37th	Buena Vista	7

Saturday, May 27^th Highlights
 
Earning national titles for the women on the final day of the NCAA Division III Championships is Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher, Loras’ Kassie Parker and the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams. Fisher earned a national title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, crossing the finish line in 10:15.34. Parker added another national title to her luggage this weekend as she finished the 5,000-meter run in 16:18.30. The Loras 4x100-meter relay team consisting of Harmony Creasy, Marion Edwards, Stevie Lambe, and Gabrielle Noland set a new Division III Championship record, crossing the line in 45.60. Additionally, the Duhawks 4x400-meter relay team also set a new championship record as they finished in 3:39.76. The members of Loras’ 4x400 relay team were Edwards, Noland, Lambe, and Alyssa Pfadenhauer.
 
There were an additional 10 A-R-C women who earned All-American distinction on the final day of the championship. In the 100-meter dash, Nebraska Wesleyan’s Isabella Hogue finished eighth with a time of 12.47. Loras’ Pfadenhauer earned a third-place finish in the 400-meter run as she crossed the finish line in 54.80. Wartburg’s Lily Campbell was the lone All-American in the 800-meter run as she finished seventh in 2:11.50. Joining Parker on the podium in the 5,000-meter run is Wartburg’s Lexi Brown. Brown finished in 16:56.55 to earn the final podium spot. Four A-R-C women steeplechase runners earned All-American honors today. Following Fisher’s national title, Central’s Caroline McMartin finished third (10:24.39), Wartburg’s Ellie Meyer finished fourth (10:28.11), and Central’s Megan Johnson finished seventh (10:36.98). There were three All-America honorees in the women’s hammer throw as Dubuque’s Kaitlyn Wilder finished fifth (55.77m), Buena Vista’s Becca Simpson finished sixth (55.50m), and Nebraska Wesleyan’s Ellie Akough finished eighth (54.73m).
 
On the men’s side, four A-R-C athletes earned All-American honors in the 800-meter run. Loras’ Mike Jasa crossed the line to finish runner-up (1:48.97), Nebraska Wesleyan’s Garrett Lenners earned a third-place finish (1:49.53), Loras’ Carter Oberfoell seventh (1:51.34), and Central’s Noah Jorgenson finished eighth (1:53.61). Luther’s Ian Kelly finished eighth in the 1,500-meter run to claim All-America honors. Kelly finished the race in 3:47.32. Wartburg’s Deyton Love picked up his second All-America honor this week as he finished sixth in the 110-meter hurdles (14.42). Simpson’s Max Cleveland joins Love in the hurdles as an All-American honoree, finishing in 14.47. In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Wartburg’s Christopher Collet and Lance Sobaski and Central’s Caleb Silver all earned All-American honors. Collet finished runner-up in 8:50.61 while Sobaski finished third with a time of 8:51.29. Silver picked up an eighth-place finish as he crossed the finish line in 8:55.66. Rounding out the All-America honors for the championships is Nebraska Wesleyan’s 4x400-meter relay team. Kyle Dickinson, Gabe Anderson, Morgan Conner, and Garrett Lenners finished the 4x400 in seventh after running 3:11.90.
 
Friday, May 26^th Highlights
 
Following up on teammate Kassie Parker’s national title Thursday, Grace Alley secured first place in the heptathlon. Alley finished the seven events with a total of 5,278 points. Her best finish came in the heptathlon high jump as she jumped 1.70 meters to finish first. Alley picked up second-place finish in the shot put and the long jump to add to her point total. Both entries from the A-R-C in the women’s shot put earned All-America honors. Dubuque’s Kaitlyn Wilder finished third with a throw of 14.68 meters while Buena Vista’s Becca Simpson earned fifth place with a throw of 14.39 meters.
 
On the men’s side, Central’s Brody Klein picked up the lone All-America honors for the A-R-C on day two as he finished the decathlon in fifth with 6,684 points. Throughout the 10 events in two days, Klein earned three top five finishes. He earned third in the pole vault, fourth in the 1500-meter run, and fifth in the discus throw.
 
Earning a spot in the finals tomorrow on the women’s side begin with Nebraska Wesleyan’s Isabella Hogue in the 100-meter dash. Hogue finished the prelims in a time of 11.74 to qualify for the finals and guarantee All-America honors. In the 400-meter dash, Loras’ Alyssa Pfadenhauer ran the fourth fastest time in prelims to clinch a spot in the finale tomorrow. Wartburg’s Lily Campbell picked up the sixth fastest time in the 800-meter run to guarantee All-America honors.
 
For the A-R-C men, four student-athletes will make up half of the field in the 800-meter run finals tomorrow. Nebraska Wesleyan’s Garrett Lenners finished with a second fastest time of 1:49.23, Loras’ Mike Jasa with the third fastest time at 1:49.28, Central’s Noah Jorgenson in seventh with a time of 1:49.65, and Loras’ Carter Oberfoell rounding out the qualifiers in eighth, crossing the finish line in 1:49.68.
 
Thursday, May 25^th (Day One) Recap
 
The biggest highlight from the first day of the Championship came from the last race of the day. In a back-and-forth battle for the lead, Loras’ Kassie Parker pulled away in the final 200 meters to pick up a national title in the 10,000-meter run. Parker finished in a championship record time of 33:02.53.
 
The championships started with All-American honors for women’s discus thrower, Ellie Akough of Nebraska Wesleyan University. Akough finished fourth with a throw of 47.81 meters. Joining her teammate as an All-American on day one of the Division III Championships is Avery Decker in the javelin throw. Decker finished the javelin with a mark of 44.44 meters to finish third. Breya Christopher of Wartburg picked up a runner-up finish in the high jump after jumping 1.72 meters. Two All-Americans on the women’s side came from the long jump. Dubuque’s Emma Seipel earned a runner-up finish with a jump of 5.88 meters while Loras’ Harmony Creasy finished seventh with a mark of 5.76 meters. Rounding out the All-American honors on the women’s side is Wartburg’s Shaelyn Hostager who finished the 10,000-meter run in 35:02.56 to earn sixth place.
 
The A-R-C saw one student-athlete on the men’s side earn All-American honors on the first day of the NCAA Championships. Wartburg’s Deyton Love earned a sixth-place finish in the long jump after jumping 7.30 meters.
 
On the women’s side, there are four individuals that earned a spot in the finals as well as two relay teams. Loras’ 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams advanced to the finals on Saturday. The 4x100 team consisting of Creasy, Marion Edwards, Stevie Lambe, and Kelly Kohlhof ran 45.96 to claim the top time of all teams entered in the prelims. With a few similar faces, the Duhawks’ 4x400 team consisted of Lambe, Creasy, Aaliyah Collier, and Alyssa Pfadenhauer. These four ran a 3:45.33 for the second-best time in the prelims. The A-R-C had four of the five entries in the 3,000-meter steeplechase earn their spot in the finals. Central’s Megan Johnson and Caroline McMartin and Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher and Ellie Meyer are going to be racing in the finals of the steeplechase.
 
On the men’s side, Luther’s Ian Kelly qualified for the 1,500-meter run finale as he finished 12^th with a time of 3:49.19. All three entries in the 3,000-meter steeplechase earned a spot in the finals as they finished third, fourth, and fifth. Wartburg’s Lance Sobaski ran an 8:51.73, teammate Christopher Collet finished fourth in a time of 8:52.09 and Central’s Caleb Silver earned the fifth spot in the finals with a time of 8:52.10. Nebraska Wesleyan’s 4x400-meter relay team consisting of Kyle Dickinson, Gabe Anderson, Morgan Conner, and Garrett Lenners qualified for the finals after finishing the prelim in 3:11.77. Loras’ 4x100-meter relay team tied for the final qualifying spot with the team from Texas Lutheran. They will have a run-off tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. to determine who the final eighth team in the finals will be for Saturday.