BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (April 23, 2022) – Sophomore Jayla Johnson broke the 100m hurdles school record in back-to-back races as part of a day that saw multiple personal bests for the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams at the Indiana Invitational in Bloomington, Ind.
 
In the midst of an outdoor campaign that has seen her climb the program record board on a seemingly weekly basis, Johnson wasted no time in clocking the top 100m hurdles time in school history today at the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex.  The Ann Arbor, Mich. native was victorious in her preliminary heat, coming through in a program-record 14.04 to punch her ticket to the event final.  Just over an hour later, Johnson shaved nine one-hundredths of a second off that effort, becoming the first Rambler in program history to break the 14-second barrier in the event as she placed fifth overall with a time of 13.95 that unofficially ranks third in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
The Maroon & Gold's men's 800m run crew dazzled later in the afternoon.  Spearheading the attack was sophomore Miguel Abaitua, who recorded a three-second personal best, securing a runner-up finish in his heat in 1:50.81, a time that moves him up to ninth all-time at Loyola.  Junior Cameron Arkesteyn's terrific run of form continued as he secured a fourth straight heat win and posted his second personal best in as many days, finishing in 1:54.33.  In a repeat of Friday's 1,500m run heat, Arkesteyn bested freshman Gabe Smit, who came in a close second at 1:54.46, a near three-second personal best.
 
Competing in the women's 800m run, senior Anneka Murrin took nine seconds off the top showing of her collegiate career, putting up a time of 2:13.21 that saw her earn a runner-up heat finish.  Freshman Kelly Andrews also impressed, running close to a seven-second outdoor personal-best 2:20.72. 
 
The Rambler women enjoyed a successful day in the field.  Leading the way was sophomore Melissa Parrella, who extended her Valley long jump lead with a personal-best leap of 19-09.50 (6.03m) to place third and solidify her hold on the number four spot on the program's all-time outdoor record board.  Senior Ilhame Tamrouti continued her strong work in the javelin, using a toss of 156-05 (47.68m) to come in second, while fellow senior Jana Rokitta cleared a season-best 5-06.50 (1.69m) en route to a fourth-place finish in the high jump.
 
Freshmen Cameron Woods and Petra Cokaric both turned in personal bests in the sprinting events.  In the men's 100m dash preliminaries, Woods raced through in 10.84, a time that sees him on the edge of a spot in the program's top 10.  Cokaric continued her progression in the 400m dash, battling across in 57.89.
 
Loyola wraps up its regular season slate April 29-30 at the Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville, Ky.