Lawrence Leaves Mark at Loyola with 10K Record

After splitting up for last week’s contests in Elmhurst, Ill. and Stanford, Calif., the Loyola track and field team stayed local for the Chicagoland Championships April 4-5. Graduate James Lawrence was a notable exception, as he headed to the West Coast to compete in the Stanford Invitational 10k April 4.

Lawrence’s trip proved more than fruitful as he placed seventh overall among 34 competitors with a time of 27:54.62. His time not only earned him a new personal best, but also broke the program record, previously held by Chris Devaney, by 45.78 seconds. Devaney’s record was accomplished at the 2023 iteration of the Stanford Invitational.

While Devaney only held the record for two years, Lawrence’s time demonstrates a trend over the past three years of men’s outdoor track closing in on the record. When Devaney captured the 10K record time, it broke Loyola Hall of Famer Jim Westphal’s time set back in 1992. Since then, four Ramblers — including Lawrence — have beat Westphal’s time.

Back in Elmhurst, the Ramblers opened their events Friday with the women’s 1500m, where second-year Priscilla Ravera finished in eighth place with a new personal best of 4:47.06. Behind her was first-year Charlotte Wilson, who also notched a personal best, coming in 24th at 5:09.19.

Second-year Trent Anderson also competed Friday in the men’s 3K steeplechase, where he came sixth overall at 9:47.34.

The Ramblers wrapped up their week Saturday, with both the men and women competing in the 800m. The men’s side was headlined by second-year James Howell, who took second in his heat and overall with a time of 1:54.20, and fourth-year Jack Slaughter, who was behind Howell with a seventh-placed finish and a time of 1:56.16.

In the women’s 800m, graduate Kate Wojcikiewicz earned third with a season’s best time of 2:15.13. Wrapping up the Ramblers’ events and just behind Wojcikiewicz was second-year Jo Collins with a time of 2:23.01 in 16th.

Loyola returns to a split-squad format next week as they head to the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, Calif. April 16-19 and the Wheaton “Don Church” Twilight Meet in Wheaton, Ill. April 17.