The St. Ambrose track and field teams continued to build on their strong 2021 seasons when they hosted the Battle In The Hive in Davenport, Iowa, the fourth meet they have hosted this year. St. Ambrose hosted teams from four other schools: Hawkeye CC, Lincoln College, Judson and Cardinal Stritch. The women's team raced to their fourth straight meet win to remain perfect on the season, racking up 159 points throughout the day. The men's team finished as the meet runner-up, falling just short to Hawkeye CC by two points, 142-140.

Anna Possehl kicked off the scoring for the Bees, blitzing to a fifth-place finish in the 60m dash (8.84) to score two points.

St. Ambrose freshman standout Jadie Knecht had a great day on the track at the Battle In The Hive, winning medals in multiple events across the day. Knecht started her day off with a silver medal finish in the 200m dash (28.15), followed by a gold medal finish in the 400m dash (1:03.92).

Knecht was joined by Leah Rose, who also had an impressive day on the track. Rose finished just behind Knecht in the 200m dash, taking bronze with a time of 28.59. Rose darted to the gold medal in her strongest event, the 60m hurdles (9.62). Rose has won the 60m hurdles in three of the four meets this season.

MacKenzie Clary also had a strong race in the 400m dash, taking third with a time of 1:13.63.

St. Ambrose junior Megan Jansett continued the success into the mid-distance events, taking bronze in the 600m run (1:47.22). Jansett was followed by her teammates Carrington Curphy (2:02.31) in sixth-place for four points and Tara Ryan (x2:09.54) in seventh-place.

Emma Duncan shined in the 800m run, finishing in first-place with a quick time of 2:31.80. Duncan took gold by six seconds.

The women's 1-mile run was a standout event for St. Ambrose, with three Bees finishing in the top-four. Michaela Pieroni took the top spot in the event (5:28.29) to continue her strong sophomore campaign. Megan Grady took bronze (5:34.85), less than a second behind the second-place finisher. Pieroni and Grady were followed by Jessica Mendenhall, who finished in fourth-place (x5:53.56).

St. Ambrose took fourth in the 4x400m relay, running Anna Possehl, Brooke Hass, MacKenzie Clary and Carrington Curphy.

The Fighting Bees took gold in their first distance medley of the year. Megan Grady, Megan Jansett, Emma Duncan and Michaela Pieroni's medley time of 12:51.68 is the ninth-fastest time in the nation.

The field events were just as strong for the Fighting Bees. St. Ambrose senior Mickey Hayes took silver in the high jump, clearing the meet-high 1.53m mark. Hayes placed second following a judge's decision. Brooke Hass and Liliana Olsen placed third and fourth in the high jump, both clearing the 1.43m mark. Placing was determined via judge's decisions.

Alissa DeShane continued her stellar senior campaign, winning the women's pole vault after clearing the 3.01m mark. DeShane has won the pole vault in three consecutive meets. Also jumping for the Bees in the pole vault was Tara Ryan, clearing the 2.26m mark to place fourth.

Former CCAC field athlete of the year Abby Camp returned from injury this week, jumping to a silver medal in the women's long jump (5.11m). Madalyn Oltman took bronze (4.81m), Leah Rose placed fourth (x4.80m) and Allisyn Blaser placed eighth (x4.26m).

Anna Dunne bolstered the Bees in the women's throwing events. Dunne took bronze in the weight throw (10.81m), as well as a seventh-place finish in the shot put (x9.60m).

Annah Miller had another strong day in the shot put, taking gold with a meet-best throw of 12.27m. Also throwing shot put for the Bees were Sarah Smith in sixth-place (10.06m) and Felica McCroy in eighth-place (x9.25m).

Joining Dunne in the weight throw was McCroy who placed sixth with a toss of 9.51m, and Smith in eighth-place (x8.41m).

The St. Ambrose men's team continued their success this season at the Battle In The Hive. St. Ambrose sophomore Andrew Olenek built on his career meet last weekend, bolting to a second-place finish in the 60m dash (7.14).

St. Ambrose sophomore speedster Will Reemtsma also made his return from injury this week, racing to a fourth-place finish in the 400m dash (50.92).

Kyle Sellers found the podium at the Battle In The Hive, winning the bronze medal in the 800m run (2:06.57), a mere four-hundredths of a second behind second-place. Sellers was followed by his freshman teammate Kale Cartee in fourth-place (2:07.23).

Some familiar faces from the St. Ambrose men's cross country team had a strong showing at the Battle In The Hive. Freshman standout Lucas Creek took bronze in the 1-mile run (4:34.09), followed closely by Matt Jung in fourth-place (4:35.56). Tommy Ashby crossed the finish in eighth-place (x5:06.20).

Cross-country Bees in the 3000m run included Danny Parr (9:58.68) and Simon Hagen (10:14.00), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

The St. Ambrose men took silver in the 4x400m relay, with Andrew Olenek, Cody Thole, Ben Wilson and Jackson Stoos carrying the baton for the Bees.

The success continued for the Bees in the field events. St. Ambrose freshman Isaac Mojica placed second amongst collegiate competition, clearing the 1.77m mark. Justin Griser also cleared the 1.77m mark and placed fifth following the judge's decision. Alec Seifert took sixth (x1.67m).

Samuel Rush continued to build on his impressive indoor year, claiming another gold in the men's pole vault (4.06m). Jacob Rossmiller shared silver with Judson's Zach Rissman (3.76m). Isaac Mojica took fourth (x3.46m) and Jacob Mertes took fifth (x3.16m).

Quantrell Polk and Keegan Norris represented the Bees in both the men's triple jump and long jump. Both men found the podium in the triple jump, with Norris taking silver (12.08m) and Polk taking bronze (11.46m). Polk took sixth in the long jump with a 5.96m jump, and Norris took seventh, hitting a mark of 5.68m.

The Bees racked up a bunch of points in the throwing events. Jonah Wilson was the top collegiate athlete in the men's shot put, taking the gold and scoring 10 points for a 14.48m throw. Mick Saloninas took the bronze in the shot put to add to his hardware on the year (14.43m). Also throwing shot put for the Bees were Seifert (x13.74m), Bryce Peacher (x13.37m), Geoff Murphy (x13.26m), Payton Woods (x12.23m), Jacob White (x11.91m) and Hunter Kasap (x11.48m).

Murphy turned around to win the gold in the men's weight throw with his 14.43m throw. White took silver, hitting a 13.94m mark. Woods took sixth (x12.17m), Kasap took seventh (x12.12m) and Peacher took eighth (x10.50m).

The St. Ambrose track and field teams will compete again this weekend when they host the SAU Quad at the St. Ambrose Wellness and Recreation Center in Davenport, Iowa. No spectators will be allowed.