LEAVENWORTH – Benedictine Track & Field started off the outdoor season with a solid opening weekend as both the Raven Women and Raven Men won the annual Spire Team Challenge, hosted by University of St. Mary.

The Raven Women scored 125 points en route to their win while the Raven Men scored 115.5 points.

Elizabeth Skendzel earned the win in the 5,000 meter in a time of 17:25.06 to set a new program record for the event. Mary Lorang was also an event winning, taking first place in the javelin with a throw of 40.91 meters. Lorang also placed second in the discus and hammer throw. Haley Protz gave the Ravens their final event winning, taking first place in the Pole Vault at a height of 2.95 meters.

For the Raven Men, Joe Loughman won the javelin with a throw of 61.7 meters, hitting the NAIA B standard. Ivan Jirak earned a win for the men in the shot put with a distance of 14.38 meters.

While the bulk of the team competed at USM on Friday and Saturday, members of the men's Race Walk contingency competed in the Viking Relays on Saturday, hosted by Grand View University. In that meet, Owen Nolte placed second in the event, hitting the NAIA A standard to qualify for Outdoor Nationals. Nolte is a two-time NAIA National Champion in the Indoor event.

Full results for both teams from the Spire Team Challenge can be found at https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/64104/teams/1512655.

The Ravens head to Emporia for their next meet of the outdoor season Friday as the compete in the ESU Spring Open. 

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