CHICAGO (May 19, 2022) – Five members of the Loyola University Chicago track & field teams have qualified for the NCAA West Preliminary in Fayetteville, Ark., it was announced on Thursday.  Seniors Kathleen Simms (Louisville, Ky./duPont Manual/Furman), Claire Hengesbaugh (St. Charles, Ill./Rosary), and Ilhame Tamrouti (Kampen, Netherlands/Almere College Kampen), sophomore Melissa Parrella (Graz, Austria), and freshman Jason Clayton (Melbourne, Australia/McKinnon Secondary) have earned regional berths.
 
The pairing of Simms and Hengesbaugh, both making a second consecutive regional appearance, will carry the banner into the postseason for Loyola's women's distance crew. 
 
Simms punched her postseason ticket back on April 14 at the prestigious Mt. SAC Relays, where she ran a massive 10,000m run personal best, clocking a time of 33:43.12, the second fastest effort in program history, that finished the year ranked 26^th regionally.  The Louisville, Ky. native is just days removed from capturing her first individual conference title after coming in at 16:31.23 to secure the top spot in the 5,000m run at the Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
 
Like Simms, Hengesbaugh secured her trip to The Natural State during the Maroon & Gold's stint at the Mt. SAC Relays.  Out of St. Charles, Ill., Hengesbaugh, who scored for the Ramblers in the 1,500m run at the outdoor league meet, put up the second fastest 5,000m run time in program history on April 15, running 16:02.99 to climb up to second all-time in program history and finish the year at 29^th in the region.
 
Set to compete in the javelin throw at a third straight regional meet, Tamrouti will look to build off a 2021 postseason journey that saw her advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.  A three-time All-MVC honoree in the event, Tamrouti, who resides in 23^rd on the regional chart, wasted no time in securing her postseason spot, as the Kampen, Netherlands native unleashed a top toss of 162-01 (49.40m) in Loyola's outdoor season opener at the Raleigh Relays on March 24.
 
Parrella rolls into her first regional appearance after becoming just the second Rambler in program history to win the MVC long jump title following a leap of 19-04.25 (5.91m) this past Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.  A native of Graz, Austria, Parrella connected on the third longest jump in Rambler annals on April 29 in Loyola's outdoor regular season finale on April 29 at the Clark Wood Invitational, soaring 20-01.75 (6.14m), a mark that finished the season 43^rd regionally.
 
Rounding out Loyola's quintet of qualifiers is Clayton.  Looking to put an exclamation mark on a breakout freshman campaign, the Melbourne, Australia native climbed the program record board in the 1,500m run on a seemingly weekly basis this spring, posting a top effort of 3:42.33 on April 22 at the Indiana Invitational en route to ranking 50^th on the final regional leaderboard.  Now sitting at third all-time in school history in the 1,500m run, Clayton is coming off a runner-up showing (3:54.82) in the event at the MVC Outdoor Championships.
 
The NCAA West Preliminary will be hosted by the University of Arkansas at John McDonnell Field, May 25-28.  SEC Network Plus will provide coverage of select events from all four days of competition.