The women’s indoor track-and-field team recently finished third in the Iowa Conference Championships, giving Coach Bob Schultz something to celebrate after the men’s team finished a disappointing ninth.

The Wartburg women’s team, which is the defending NCAA Division III indoor track champion and currently is ranked No. 2 in the Central Region, won the conference meet. The Knights were followed by Simpson, which is the No. 6-ranked team in the region. However, Loras, which is not ranked, finished ahead of Central, which entered the meet as the No. 5-ranked team in the Central Region.

“I was happy for our women,” Schultz said. “I thought they competed well, and so many of them stepped it up.”

Three Duhawks, all senior athletes, have qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships, which will take place this weekend in Greencastle, IN. Hannah Weiss earned a berth in the 800-meter run at the national meet, while Mary Bridget Corken will compete in the 1-mile run and Barb Kramer will compete in the 55-meter hurdles.

Kremer was among those earning the coach’s praise for their performances during the conference meet after she placed second in the long jump and third in the hurdles, and her leap in the long jump was a personal best. Corken finished second in the 3,000-meter run and was third in the 1-mile run. Junior Danielle McNally finished fourth in both the shot put and the weight throw. The coach also said that sophomore Steph Schadl broke the school record in the women’s pentathlon, scoring a total of 2,458 points.

Loras also boasts a conference champion. Sophomore Bridget McQuillan won the pole vault and set a personal best in the process. McQuillan could hardly contain her excitement.

“My real goal was just to get 10 feet, so I accomplished that goal,” she said. “And I had a lot of good attempts to get 10 feet, 6 inches. I’ve been wanting this goal since last year when I got second place at conference. I worked all summer with coaches from home and improved my technique a lot. I changed how I was approaching my flaws.”

While the women could feel pretty good about their third-place finish in the conference meet, the men’s track team will be trying to forget about its indoor finale as the Duhawks start preparing for the outdoor season.

Even though the conference boasts four teams that are ranked in the Central Region, Schultz had expected a much better result.

“It was the most disappointing finish I have ever seen as a coach,” he said.

However, there was some good news to report, as the 4×400-meter relay team finished third in the conference and also qualified for this weekend’s national tournament. Those who are making the trip are sophomore Ryan Seymour, first-year Sean Lewis, and seniors Scott Schemmel and Chris Swift.