CHICAGO (April 24, 2021) – The Ramblers' men's distance medley relay fell just over a second shy of breaking a program record, while sophomore Isabel Velasco took down a 12-year-old mark in the 100m hurdles as the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams closed out action at both the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa and Clark Wood Open in Louisville, Kent. today.
 
Loyola's men's distance medley relay of seniors Demetri Panici and Derek Rink, junior Eran Siboni, and freshman Miguel Abaitua joined forces to clock a time of 9:49.00 today in Iowa's state capital, placing sixth overall.  The quartet's time is just over a second shy of the program record of 9:47:77 that was set during the 1990-91 season.
 
"Our men's distance medley relay was really exciting to watch today," Loyola assistant coach Mircea Bogdan commented.  "They showed how to close a meet.  They really put themselves in the race and competed with attitude and confidence against a stacked field.  The splits were awesome and so was the final time, coming close to the school record.  I'm so proud of these guys and the direction that they're heading in.
 
Making the first 100m hurdles appearance of her collegiate career, Velasco dazzled today in The Bluegrass State.  The Malaga, Spain native came through in 14.73 to shatter Nicole Noelliste's (2009) previous school record en route to placing 10^th overall.
 
The Maroon & Gold enjoyed a big day in the 100m dash preliminaries.  Senior Denee' Lawrence opened up the afternoon with a time of 12.34, narrowly missing out on a finals berth, while junior Adam Clayton and freshman Jevan Terry capped off their weekends with respective times of 10.84 and 10.95 to qualify for the final.
 
Sophomore Ayoub El-Ashmawi returned to action in the 400m dash, running 50.99 to finish 16^th overall.  Senior Kenny Wallace captured a 16^th-place finish of his own in the 1,500m run, crossing in 4:00.14, while junior Olivia Orr ran 4:48.54 to take 22^nd on the women's side of the event.
 
Sophomore Kevin Szczepaniec represented the Ramblers in the field, finishing seventh in the triple jump following a top leap of 44-04.75 (13.53m).
 
"Conditions got pretty bad for the second day of the Clark Wood Open, but we came out and competed well," Loyola head coach Bob Thurnhoffer said.  "The 100m dash crew looked promising with Denee' barely missing the final and Adam and Jevan getting through.  We elected not to run the final with the weather getting worse throughout the day, but it was a really productive weekend for them.  Isabel shined in the hurdles today.  This was a big step forward for her, so I'm excited to keep progressing with her training.  Olivia and Kenny looked strong in the respective 1,500m run heats and it was also great to have Ayoub back this weekend.  We're already looking forward to Illinois State next weekend.  It's shaping up to be a big weekend for us."
 
Loyola splits squads for the final time next weekend, April 30 – May 1, when it sends athletes to both the Illinois State Invitational and GVSU Meet.