DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men and Wartburg College women are in the lead after the first day of competition at the 2024 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Indoor Track and Field Championships. It was the start of a tough conference championship as there were four women who finished under the championship record in the 5,000-meter run and two men who finished under the championship record in the 60-meter hurdles prelims.
 
Women’s Day 1 Highlights

• Grace Alley found herself at the top of the podium in the Pentathlon for the third-straight year, defending her 2022 and 2023 Indoor championships titles, scoring 3,604 points.
• Loras’ Emma Seipel claimed first place in the women’s long jump, for the third-straight year, but first in a Duhawk uniform. She jumped 5.77 meters to earn her third title in as many years.
• In women’s shot put, Lily Meester of Wartburg found herself at the top of the podium as she finished with a toss of 13.64 meters.
• In the 5,000-meter run, Megan Johnson of Central grabbed first place, running a 17.02.79. This time sets the newest conference championship mark. Along with Johnson, Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher and Shaelyn Hostager, as well as Simpson’s Lara Kallem all finished under the previous championship record of 17.13.93.
• In the 60-meter hurdles, Wartburg’s JoJo Tyynismaa ran a time of 8.94 to grab the top qualifying spot for tomorrow’s finals.
• Emma Seipel for the Duhawks had the best time in the prelims for the 60-meter dash, crossing the finish line with a time of 7.75.
• The distance medley relay title went to Wartburg’s team of Haley Meyer, Leah Cherry, Rachel Nagel, and Ellie Meyer who ran it with a time of 11:37.14.
• Dubuque’s Meghan Prohaska found herself on top of the podium in the pole vault for the second-straight year as she cleared 3.47 meters.

*Full list of All-Conference honorees listed below.
 
Men’s Day 1 Highlights

• Through four of the seven events in the heptathlon, Simpson’s Ulysses Patterson leads the field with 2,673 total points as the final three events finish tomorrow.
• The Duhawk’s Raymond Venditti cleared 4.88 meters in the pole vault and won the gold medal for his second-straight year.
• Simpson’s Spencer Moon claimed the fastest time in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:49.07.
• In the 60-meter hurdles prelims, Eli Etherton of Nebraska Wesleyan had the fastest time with 7.96. Etherton set a new championship record and will look to improve on that in the finals tomorrow. Along with Etherton, Simpson’s Max Cleveland also finished under the previous championship record as he ran an 8.05 prelim today.
• In the 60-meter dash, Loras’ Dayvion Foreman had the best prelim time as he crossed the line in 6.92.
• Shot put saw Loras’ Holden Murphy at the top of the podium with a throw of 16.89 meters. This mark currently sits at No. 10 on the NCAA Division III Indoor Qualifying List.
• The long jump gold medal went to Derik Bunten of Loras following a jump of 7.28 meters, which is the eighth best mark in Division III this season.
• In the distance medley relay, the Loras Duhawks team of Jacob Belha, Carson Vaske, Joe Franke, and Ryan Harvey finished with a time of 10:03.16 which is the ninth best mark in Division III this season.

*Full list of All-Conference honorees listed below.
 

Men's Team Scores			Women's Team Scores
Team	Points		Team	Points
1. Loras	57		1. Wartburg	61
2. Wartburg	55		2. Loras	57
3. Dubuque	28		3. Central	38
4. Simpson	16		4. Dubuque	37
5. Nebraska Wesleyan	15		5. Simpson	20
6. Buena Vista	11		6. Nebraska Wesleyan	18
7. Central	6		7. Buena Vista	2
8. Luther	5		8. Coe	1
9. Coe	2		9. Luther	0