CHICAGO (October 31, 2019) – After what will amount to a two-week hiatus from competition, the Loyola University Chicago cross country teams will make the short trip to Valparaiso, Ind. on Saturday for the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference Cross Country Championship.
 
Sunset Hill Farm County Park will play host to this year's edition of the league meet.  The men's 8k race will open the day at 10:35 a.m., with the women's 5k race to follow at 11:35 a.m.  The Valley on ESPN will provide full coverage of both races.  Links to watch, along with those for live results, can be found to the right.
 
In a pre-championship poll of the conference's coaches, Loyola's women's team was picked as the favorite, collecting seven out of a possible 10 first-place votes to top the poll.  On the men's side, the Ramblers were tabbed third, 17 points back of Bradley, who finished atop the men's poll.
 
Loyola's women's side will be looking to build off an impressive runner-up finish at last season's conference meet.  The Maroon & Gold enter the weekend with four of the conference's top-15 5k times.  Hoping to pace the attack will be junior Mimi Reimers, who used a time of 17:24.0, the second fastest in The Valley this season, to cruise to victory at the Illinois State Invitational back on September 13.
 
The Rambler men, who posted four top-five finishes during the regular season, own three of the MVC's top-10 8k times.  Senior Derek Rink leads the Maroon & Gold's trio after using a run of 24:47.90 to fourth overall at the Illinois State Invitational.  That time has Rink sitting fifth overall on the conference leaderboard entering the weekend.
 
Loyola will continue the postseason on Friday, November 15 when it travels to Stillwater, Okla. for the NCAA Midwest Regional.