ST. LOUIS, Mo. (September 17, 2022) – Sophomore Gabe Smit and graduate student Sean O'Connell turned in a dominant one-two punch to lead the Loyola University Chicago cross country teams this morning at the Billiken Invitational in St. Louis, Mo.
 
Spurred on by the aforementioned duo's efforts, Loyola's men totaled 22 points to outdistance Atlantic 10 Conference rival Saint Louis, the event host, by 13 points for the team title.  In the women's team race, the Ramblers put up 39 points to take home second.
 
Smit and O'Connell ran away from the field today at Jefferson Barracks Park just south of downtown St. Louis.  The pairing finished nearly 14 seconds clear of their next closest competitor in the men's 8k race, with Smit coming through at 26:24.5 and O'Connell following hot on his heels in 26:24.6.
 
Making his Loyola debut, graduate student Alex Ratkovich posted a time of 26:50.8 to take fifth, with fellow graduate student Nick Chudzik coming through just four seconds later, claiming sixth in 26:54.1.  Graduate student Nathan Kolbus closed out a terrific showing for the Maroon & Gold that saw all five Ramblers place inside the top 10, crossing eighth at 27:20.7.
 
Pacing the attack for Loyola in the women's 5k was sophomore Ali Gillooly.  Also making her Rambler debut, Gillooly finished in 19:16.0 to best the Billikens' Jordan Kantola (19:29.3) for second place.  She was joined in the top 10 by sophomores Aiden Grasse and Roisin Treacy.  Grasse claimed sixth with a time of 19:48.0, while Treacy, who, like Gillooly, also ran in her first race as a Rambler today, came in two spots back in eighth at 20:00.2.
 
Junior Fran Hendrickson continued the fast start to her 2022 campaign, placing 11^th overall in 20:03.1.  Fellow junior Grace Maurer rounded out the Rambler top five a spot back in 12^th, registering a time of 20:18.1.
 
Loyola returns to the familiar sights of Montrose Harbor in Chicago, Ill. on Friday, September 30 to host the 43^rd edition of the Loyola Lakefront Invitational.  More information on the meet, including a schedule of events, can be found here.