2018 MVC Indoor Championships Final Results

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (February 25, 2018) – Senior Cassie Bloch took home a conference title in the mile run as the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams closed out competition at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships today in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
 
Loyola's men's team finished seventh in the final team standings with 31 points, while the Rambler women accumulated 47 points to come in sixth.  Illinois State swept the men's (182) and women's (174) team crowns.   
 
"Overall, we had a roller coaster ride of an MVC Championships," Loyola head track & field coach Bob Thurnhoffer commented.  "We collectively scored nearly 30 points more than last year and walked away with numerous more podium finishes.  It was great to see new faces get in on the scoring and find their way on to the podium.  Lindsey (Brewis), Cassie (Bloch), Eric (Burns), Emma (Hatch) and our men's 4x400m relay led the way for us but we had a lot of people make the finals for the first time.  It's been a great indoor season and now we'll turn out attention to the outdoor campaign."
 
Bloch, who finished third in the mile run last year, was fantastic today inside the UNI Dome.  The St. Clair Shores, Mich. product clocked a personal-best time of 4:48.64, the second fastest time in school history, to beat out Illinois State's Grace Beattie (4:50.53) for the top spot on the podium.
 
"Cassie worked extremely hard for this, so to see all of that pay off today was truly amazing," Loyola assistant coach Alan Peterson said.  "Going from walk-on to MVC Champion doesn't happen often and I couldn't be happier for her!"
 
The pairing of senior Emma Hatch and redshirt junior Lindsey Brewis capped off a strong weekend in the 3,000m run.  Brewis, fresh off winning the 5,000m run on Saturday, earned a runner-up finish in 9:37.97, while Hatch claimed fourth in 9:56.03. 
 
"As a whole distance/middle distance team, our goal was to put up 35 points and we came up with 42," Peterson continued.  "I'm so proud of the girls' and I'm excited about getting the outdoor season started!"
 
Loyola's 4x400m relay of juniors Leron Norton and Elijah Olige, sophomores Michael Edwards and freshman Tyler Elmore earned a spot on the podium, taking third with a time of 3:15.03.  Elmore also put points on the board for the Maroon & Gold in the 60m dash, where he crossed in 6.87 en route to claiming fifth.  On the women's side of the 60m dash, junior Natajah Simmons took seventh in 7.65.  Simmons also saw action in the 4x400m relay, where she teamed up with senior Brady Rodney and sophomores Lindsay Walters and Kyndall Wallace as the quartet posted a time of 3:54.07, coming in sixth.  Sophomore Octavian Wells wrapped up a solid day for the Rambler sprinters in the 200m dash finals, checking in at 21.97 to finish sixth.
 
In the 3,000m run, sophomore Riley DeMeulenaere turned in a breakout performance, finishing fifth overall with a time of 8:28.79.  Freshman Gift Chinda battled his way into a scoring position as well, earning a seventh-place finish in the men's triple jump following a top leap of 45-07.25 (13.91m).
 
With its indoor schedule now complete, Loyola will open the outdoor portion of its schedule on March 17 in Indianapolis, Ind. at the Stan Lyons Invitational.