DES MOINES, Iowa (May 13, 2022) – Three members of the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams secured All-Valley accolades on the opening day of the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships this evening in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
The pairing of senior Blake Buysse and graduate student Elizabeth Aho put up impressive showings for the Maroon & Gold in the 10,000m run under the lights at Drake Stadium.  Buysse, who took home All-MVC honors during the indoor season in the 5,000m run, turned in another solid effort this evening in Iowa's state capital, posting a time of 29:56.92 to earn a runner-up finish.  No stranger to running on the historic "Blue Oval", Aho, out of Grayslake, Ill., battled her to a third-place finish, crossing in 36:32.82.  Senior Olivia Orr also scored for the Rambler women in the event, running 37:45.77 to place seventh.
 
Competing in the javelin, senior Ilhame Tamrouti earned the third All-MVC nod of her time in Rogers Park.  The Kampen, Netherlands product registered a top toss of 142-01 (43.32m) to finish third overall.
 
In the evening's preliminary action, the Rambler men completed a clean sweep in the 1,500m run, sending three athletes through to Sunday's event final.  Freshman Jason Clayton led the charge, rolling to a heat victory in 3:56.90.  Junior Cameron Arkesteyn (3:58.09) and freshman Gabe Smit (3:58.24) will join Clayton in the event final after also securing automatics berths.
 
Loyola will also be well represented in the women's 1,500m run final on Sunday afternoon.  Senior Claire Hengesbaugh posted the top time by a Rambler in the event this evening, coming in second in her heat in 4:35.01, while fellow senior Anneka Murrin, the reigning MVC champion in the event, topped her heat in 4:40.01.
 
In the men's 200m dash preliminaries, freshman Cameron Woods ran an outdoor personal-best 22.22.  Sophomore Jevan Terry came in just six one-hundredths of a second back of Woods, racing through with an outdoor season best time of 22.28.
 
Loyola continues action at the MVC Outdoor Championships beginning at 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.