Women’s Track and Field Sets School Records at Loras Meet

The RedTail Women's Track and Field competed in their first meet of the 2021 outdoor season at the Loras College Easter Mid Week Meet in Dubuque on Thursday, April 1. 

Mari Shavers started the meet strong for the RedTails by taking first place in the discus throw with an impressive 44.60m mark. Her mark shattered the previous school record and qualified her for nationals. Shavers currently sits in second place overall in the NJCAA. 

RedTail throwers Alyssa Striegel and Allison Flanscha also recorded excellent marks in the discus throw, putting them into the top five all-time at Hawkeye. 

"Any time you have personal best times and marks right away, you know it's going to be a good season for the team," says head coach Tyler Mulder.

Ryann Portch and Kaylee Leicht took fifth and seventh place respectively for the RedTails in the 1500-meter run. Their performances landed them 15th and 17th overall in the event, and Portch's time of 4 minutes, 57 seconds qualified her for nationals. 

"We initially decided to run the 1500m as a part of their training regimen, and to have them PR is very exciting!" says coach Mulder. 

Margaret Nielsen established Hawkeye's first ever high jump for the outdoor season, setting the school record with a jump of 4'7. Nielsen also landed an eighth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, followed by teammate Carlie Hoppe taking ninth place. 

Maddy Lenaerts made her season debut in the 400-meter run, taking third place and adding her to Hawkeye's top five all-time. 

"Overall, it was a fun meet hosted by Loras," says coach Mulder. "To have it mid-week was a nice switch up to our normal routines and allowed us to hit two meets in one week."