CARBONDALE, Ill. (May 14, 2021) – Loyola University Chicago junior Ilhame Tamrouti rolled to a second consecutive Missouri Valley Conference javelin title to raise the curtain on the 2021 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships today in Carbondale, Ill.
 
"It was a pretty good first day," Loyola head track & field coach Bob Thurnhoffer stated.  "Ilhame kicked the meet off in style with a dominant win in the javelin final.  The 10ks went pretty well too.  We talked about making Sunday a busy one for us and we got quite a few through to the finals out of preliminaries today.  Tomorrow shapes up to be a big day as we look to fill up more slots for Sunday!"
 
Tamrouti put forth another dominant performance en route to securing her second Valley title in as many outdoor league meets.  The Kempen, Netherlands product jumped out to an early advantage before unleashing a toss of 161-10 (49.34m) on her penultimate attempt to erase any doubt as she topped the individual leaderboard, outdistancing Southern Illinois' Emma Sexton, the runner-up, by over 10 feet.
 
On the track, the pairing of senior Mimi Reimers and junior Claire Hengesbaugh secured All-MVC honors in the 10,000m run.  Reimers, a native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, clocked a season-best 35:02.88 to land second, while Hengesbaugh, out of St. Charles, Ill., came across third at 35:41.11, the 10^th fastest time in program history, in her first collegiate appearance in the event.  Junior Anya Brett, who also made her 10,000m run debut this evening, scored as well, crossing in 36:44.05 to land fifth.
 
"The goal is always to put points on the board and the 10k group did a great job with that," Loyola associate head coach Alan Peterson added.  "Mimi and Claire did a majority of the work to try and run fast, and still came away with podium finishes.  I'm very proud of the group and how they competed."
 
Junior Blake Buysse turned in the top showing of his career on the men's side of the 10,000m run.  Like Hengesbaugh, Buysse ascended to 10^th all-time in Rambler annals in the event, battling his way to a personal-best 30:05.10 to secure a fifth-place finish.

"Blake ran a great race with lots of courage and determination in a stacked field, maybe the best one in years at an MVC meet," Loyola assistant coach Mircea Bogdan said.  "He peaked at the right time.  I am very proud of him.  Our future in the 10k is very promising as we return all five guys next year."
 
Loyola was successful in the evening's preliminary heats as well, advancing four athletes through to Sunday's finals.  Leading the way for the quartet was junior Anneka Murrin, who coasted to a 1,500m run heat victory in 4:38.06. 

Freshman Miguel Abaitua enjoyed a breakout performance in the men's 1,500m run, posting a personal-best 3:52.96 to claim an at-large berth to the event final.  In the following heat, senior Demetri Panici corralled a finals berth of his own, placing second in 3:53.17.  Senior Kenny Wallace narrowly fell short of joining the pairing on Sunday after running a personal-best 3:55.11.

"Demetri ran a smart race to punch his ticket to the final," Bogdan continued.  "He is very focused and determined to end his career on a high note.  Miguel ran an amazing race and turned in a big personal best to earn a spot in the final.  I'm very impressed by him, especially since he is only a freshman.  Having the combination of a senior and a freshman in the final is very exciting.  It's a great passing of the torch.  The next two days should be very exciting for us."
 
Junior Adam Clayton carried the banner for the Maroon & Gold's sprints crew this evening in the 200m dash preliminaries.  Clayton, who entered the league meet with The Valley's top time in the event, didn't disappoint, as he raced across in 21.60 to come in second and secure an automatic berth to the final.
 
Loyola continues action at the MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, with multi-events slated to start the day at 10 a.m. before competition in the field gets a full late afternoon and early evening underway at 3 p.m.  Coverage on the The Valley on ESPN is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m.