MVC Track & Field Scholar-Athlete Team

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (May 21, 2018) – 14 members of the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams have earned Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honors, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon. Nine Rambler men were recognized, while five members of Loyola's women's side were honored.
 
Leading the way for the Rambler men was the pairing of junior Kevin White and sophomore Eric Burns.  White, who will make his second straight appearance at the NCAA West Regional at the end of next week, successfully defended his 800m run title at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.  Away from the track, the Wooster, Ohio native sports a 3.860 cumulative grade-point average as a Conservation & Restoration Ecology Major.  Burns recorded runner-up finishes in the long jump at both the indoor and outdoor league meets.  Out of New Carlisle, Ind., Burns is a Biophysics major with a 3.638 cumulative grade-point average.
 
Also earning Scholar-Athlete recognition for Loyola's men's side were redshirt seniors Alex Baker (Sociology, 3.753) and Nicholas Prajka (Public Policy, 3.421), seniors Stephen Hubona (Biochemistry, 3.938) and Samuel Urben (Conservation & Restoration Ecology, 3.227), junior Elijah Olige (Creative Advertising, 3.430) and sophomores Riley DeMeulenaere (Biology, 3.977) and Demetri Panici (Finance, 3.333).
 
For a third-straight season, the distance duo of senior Emma Hatch and redshirt junior Lindsey Brewis, both of whom will make their respective NCAA West Regional debuts next week, was honored.  Hatch, who holds a 3.404 cumulative grade-point average as an Economics & Mathematics double major, collected her second outdoor 10,000m run crown in as many years at last weekend's MVC Championships.  Brewis, an Information Systems major with a 3.559 cumulative grade-point average, laid claim to the Valley's indoor title in the 5,000m run before earning a runner-up finish in the same event at the outdoor conference meet.
 
The Ramblers quintet of women's honorees was rounded out by senior Cassie Bloch (Biochemistry, 3.444), junior Natajah Simmons (Biology, 3.342) and sophomore Rita Maurais (Nursing, 3.978).
 
To earn Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honors, a student-athlete must finish in the top eight of the conference championship or in the top three of a relay event (indoor or outdoor meet) and carry a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average.  First-year transfers are not eligible and student-athletes must a sophomore in athletic and academic standing.