CHICAGO, Ill. (December 9, 2022) – The Loyola University Chicago track & field teams posted dominant efforts across the board in the 3,000m run as the Ramblers saw action this evening at the Blue Demon Holiday Invitational inside the Track & Field Center at Gately Park on Chicago's South Side.
 
Leading the way for the Maroon & Gold was the pairing of graduate student Sean O'Connell and sophomore Gabe Smit.  O'Connell, out of Claredon Hills, Ill., clocked the ninth fastest 3,000m run time in school history as he placed first overall with a time of 8:17.13, a six-second personal best.  Smith, a native of Savage, Minn., was hot on O'Connell's heels as he shaved over 25 seconds off his previous top collegiate effort, earning a runner-up finish in 8:20.86.  Freshman Woody Jerome (8:23.03), junior Miguel Abaitua (8:23.06), and sophomore Fionn Harrington (8:25.50) came in third through fifth, respectively, as part of a showing that saw the Ramblers occupy the top 10 spots on the final leaderboard.
 
On the women's side of the event, the trio of graduate student Sophia Manners, sophomore Grace Kuhn, and junior Ruth Heery battled it out for the overall top spot.  Manners clocked in at 10:45.60, edging out Kuhn (10:45.61) and Heery (10:45.51) by just one one-hundredth of a second for the event title.  Junior Grace Maurer placed fourth in 10:45.65, while sophomore Roisin Treacy came through in 10:53.15 to take fifth as the Maroon & Gold laid claim to the top six places on the event leaderboard.
 
Senior Cameron Arkesteyn took nearly seven seconds his personal best in the mile run, racing across in 4:11.86 to claim the men's title.  Graduate student Kenny Wallace secured a runner-up finish, clocking a personal-best 4:12.39. 
 
Junior Fran Hendrickson completed a clean sweep of the mile run crows for Loyola, checking in at 5:08.57 to top the women's leaderboard.  Sophomores Kelly Andrews (5:15.41) and Aiden Grasse (5:19.32) took fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
Fresh off a breakout sophomore campaign, junior Jayla Johnson impressed in the 60m hurdles.  After putting up a time of 8.90 in a preliminary heat to secure an at-large berth to the final, Johnson raced through fifth at 8.80, a time just three one-hundredths of a second shy of her personal best in the event.
 
Sophomore Erin Connors picked up a heat victory in the 600m dash, posting a time of 1:39.84, with junior Madi McLain ran 1:45.45 to take second in the heat.  Competing in the 200m dash, junior Jevan Terry landed second in his heat with a time of 22.48.
 
Loyola is back in action after the turn of the new calendar year when it returns to the Track & Field Center at Gately Park for the Blue Demon Alumni Classic on Friday, January 20.