CHICAGO (September 28, 2019) – The Loyola University Chicago cross country teams battled cool and wet conditions to turn in a several standout performances as the Ramblers hosted the 42^nd Annual Loyola Lakefront Invitational today at Montrose Harbor in Chicago, Ill.
 
Loyola's women's side placed four of its runners in the top 15 to earn a runner-up finish, totaling 62 points to come in just two points shy of Northern Illinois (60 points), which captured the team title.  The Rambler men took fifth, closing the day with 172 points.
 
Sophomore Tarynn Cullings led a balanced attack for the Maroon & Gold in the Maroon Division women's 5k race.  The Medina, Ohio product came across in 18:03.07 to earn an 11^th-place finish.  Just behind Cullings was sophomore Anneka Murrin, who turned in a breakout showing, running a personal-best 18:04.44 to claim 12^th.
 
Junior Mimi Reimers, fresh off a winning the Illinois State Invitational in her last appearance, finished in 18:04.50 to come in 13^th.  The pairing of graduate student Sophia Noto and senior Rita Maurais came in 15^th and 16^th, respectively.  Noto raced through in 18:07.37, while Maurais continued her great start to the 2019 season, posting a time of 18:09.50.
 
"The ladies competed extremely well today," Loyola assistant coach Alan Peterson said.  "To only have six seconds between our five scorers is by far the smallest spread we've had.  We knew coming in it would be tough with the conditions, but they embraced it and took another step forward towards our goals for the end of the season."
 
For the third time in as many meets, senior Derek Rink was the first Rambler to cross the finish, pacing Loyola in the Maroon Division men's 8k race.  The Appleton, Wis. native placed 17^th, navigating his way to a time of 25:38.38.  Sophomore Ian Cummings claimed a spot in the Rambler top five for a second consecutive meet, running 25:42.24 to come in 24^th.
 
Sophomores Akhil Ghosh and Chantz Visse were separated by less than a second.  Ghosh clocked a 26:03.82 to finish 42^nd, with Visse followed in 26:04.14 to take 44^th.  Senior Riley DeMeulenaere followed closely behind, taking 48^th with a time of 26:07.85.  
 
"We set our expectations very high after our first two meets, and today we came up just a little short," Loyola assistant coach Mircea Bogdan commented.  "I felt like we didn't look as fresh as I would've hoped.  However, they all competed very hard and gave their very best in very tough course conditions.  I'm proud of the effort they put forth.  We have five weeks until the conference meet and we will use that time to make sure we are ready."
 
In the Gold Division races, the Loyola attack was spearheaded by the duo of freshman Sarah Greer and junior Emmanuel Champagne.  Greer finished 13^th in the women's 5k race, coming through in 19:29.69, while Champagne took home 16^th in the men's 5k in 26:25.31.
 
Loyola wraps up the regular season portion of its schedule on October 18 when it sees action at the Bradley Pink Classic in Peoria, Ill.