Cross Country Teams Shine at North Park/CUC Invite

The Loyola men’s and women’s cross country teams captured several accolades to start their 2024 seasons at the North Park/CUC Early Invitational, Aug. 30. The 5000-meter event took place at Schiller Woods in Chicago. 

The opening invitational of the Ramblers’ 2024 campaign marked the first of six meets the cross country program will compete in during the fall season.

The Loyola men’s team ranked fourth and the women’s team ranked sixth in the Midwest region of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason rankings.

The women’s side of the meet yielded positive results as redshirt fourth-year Alessandra Rodriguez took first place with a dominant time of 18:01.4. Second-year Lily Mataway finished right behind Rodriguez in second with a time of 18:21.2, while third place finish belonged to first-year Claire Blotnik with a time of 18:54.2. 

Rounding out the Rambler competitors in the women’s event was second-year Jo Collins who earned fifth place with a time of 19:36.6.

The men’s team was treated to a fantastic performance by first-year River Santiago who took first place with a time of 15:01.3.

Santiago’s first-place finish was 9.4 seconds quicker than third-year Aidan Armstrong of North Central College, marking an impressive win for Santiago as a member of the sixth-ranked team in Division III, North Central took up six of the top ten on the day. The only other Rambler to place in the top ten was first-year James Howell, who finished in fourth with a time of 15:15.1.

The first-years continued to lead for the Ramblers as Trent Anderson took 12th at 15:39.2. Right behind him in 13th was first-year Aidan Collins and the last qualifier for the maroon and gold was second-year Kyle Knutson coming in 21st with a time of 15:52.3.

The Ramblers will be back on the track Sept. 20 at the Notre Dame Catholic Championships in South Bend, IND. Two weeks after South Bend action, the Ramblers will return home for the 45th annual Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational taking place alongside the shore of Lake Michigan Oct. 4.