Oct. 31, 2011

Recap

Quotes from Loyola Head Coach Randy Hasenbank

On the conditions:
I feel the teams performed very well in the adverse conditions this past weekend. The course was very muddy, 6-8" deep in many places, true "cross country".

On Gina Valgoi's performance:
Gina put together a great race and came close to winning the individual conference title. She was a warrior out there and is setting a fine example for our young runners. She finished ninth last year, so, nice improvement.

On Megan Janezic's performance:
Megan Janezic was very impressive, as she ran more than half of the race with one shoe. We are very proud of her efforts. Megan moved from 17th in the meet year ago to 8th, earning her first all-conference honor!"

On Josh Stein's race:
Josh Stein was Josh Stein, steady and dependable. He did post the best finish of Horizon league cross country career. His self discipline and confidence has anchored our team.

On Danny Docherty's plight:
Danny Docherty earned the first all-league honor of his career, up from a 24th place finish a year ago. It did not come easy, due to the mud and course conditions, he fell early in the race and was back near 50th position at 1000 meters. This was a tough course to come from behind on. He kept his poise and raced his way back into the top ten to eventually finish 12th.

On Sam Penzenstadler's race and freshman season:
Sam Penzenstadler has put together one of the finest freshman campaigns that I can remember. He made a significant impact on the outcome of the meet and our season thus far.

On the rest of the Loyola men's team:
Our three sophomores, along with Ben Reifenberg, really battled hard. I think we can really raise the bar as far as the expectations of this young group. Andy Fenske, Alex Thornburg and Jake Autio just continued to improve throughout the season. They competed at a different level today, they competed for Loyola. I am proud of how hard they fought. Senior Nolan Fine put together the best race of his career as he finished 30th.