Sept. 3, 2011

Palos Heights, Ill. - Loyola's cross country teams opened the 2011 season with a flourish, sweeping the team titles at the UIC Home Opener this afternoon at Horse Trail Lake in Palos Heights, Ill. The women's team, led by medalist Gina Valgoi, posted a team score of 35 points to easily outdistance second-place Saint Xavier (81 points) while the men's score of 33 points put them 28 points clear of UIC in their first competition under head coach Randy Hasenbank.

Valgoi was terrific, covering the two-mile course in 11:16.4, over 17 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Rachael Dean of Saint Xavier. Three other Ramblers posted top-10 finishes led by sophomore Alyvia Clark, who grabbed fourth place with a time of 11:36. Classmate Megan Janezic finished sixth in 11:42.8 while senior Liz Butler claimed 10th with a finishing time of 11:47.2.

Freshman Grace Moore impressed in her first collegiate meet as her 14th-place effort (11:53.9) secured her spot as Loyola's fifth scorer. Her time put her just ahead of teammates Catherine Crisler (15th, 11:55.6), Colleen Baker (18th, 12:01.4) and Ally Spiroff (20th, 12:06.1).

The Rambler men also showed off their depth, placing five runners in the top 10 of the 71-runner field. Seniors Danny Docherty and Ben Reifenberg led the way, finishing third and fourth, respectively, with times of 20:46.4 and 20:50.8. Junior Oscar Aguinaga (20:58.3) was the third Rambler across the line, taking seventh, while senior Josh Stein (9th, 21:02.2) and freshman Sam Penzenstadler (10th, 21:09.5) rounded out the quintet.

Fellow freshman Jared Skrabacz also ran well, posting a 14th-place finish (21:18.1) while sophomore Alex Thornburg just missed a top-20 finish, settling for 21st in 21:37.5.

Loyola takes next weekend off and returns to competition on Friday, Sept. 16 at the Illinois Intercollegiate Championships in Normal, Ill.