Former NCAA Champion and All-American Therese Haiss is in her third season as an assistant coach with the Loyola Chicago track & field and cross country programs. Haiss works with the Maroon & Gold's middle distance and distance student-athletes.
Since joining the Rambler coaching staff, Loyola won three conference titles including a sweep of the 2022 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championships. The cross country program named its first All-American since 1991, 11 Ramblers earned All-Conference honors, two All-Rookie, two All-Region accolades, and several academic awards from the league and USTFCCCA.
The 2022 title sweep marked the first time both programs won the title since 2012. The men also claimed the individual title with Chris Devaney crossing the finish line first. He took home the A10 Most Outstanding Male Performer honors.
In addition to Devaney’s success, Ryan Martins and Blake Buysse placed in the top-10 with second and ninth place respectively. On the women’s side, Nora Wollen (5th), Lilian Mataway (6th), and Claire Hengesbaugh (8th) landed in the top-10. Mataway was tabbed the A10 Most Outstanding Rookie Performer. Loyola raked in a total of nine All-Atlantic 10 nods and two All-Rookie selections following the A10 Championship.
The Ramblers continued rewriting history at the NCAA Regionals. The men soared to a fourth-place finish at the regional, marking the highest finish in program history. The women’s eighth-place finish was the third best in program history. Martins and Devaney were tabbed All-Region by UTSFCCCA. Martins also became the first male to qualify for the NCAA Championship since 2014. At the championship, he placed 29th with a personal best time (29:28.8), which is the second highest finish by a Rambler in program history.
Momentum carried over into the indoor track & field season starting with the shattering of Jim Westphal’s 30-year-old school record. Martins was 23-seconds faster in the men’s 5k to make history, stopping the clock at 13:33.45. The indoor season was capped with the success of three freshmen earning A10 All-Rookie honors. Woody Jerome and Ali Gillooly ran the fastest times in the men’s and women’s 3,000m, respectively, while Mataway held the fastest rookie time in the women’s 5k.
In all, the Ramblers posted 10 top-10 times during the indoor campaign, including five on each the men’s and women’s side. The teams combined for 41 personal records over nine meets.
The outdoor track season garnered similar success, including the program’s first ever Atlantic 10 individual champion in the men’s 10k, 81 PRs, and 22 program top-10 times.
Outdoors, Devaney and Martins broke Jim Westphal’s 31-year-old program record in the event at Stanford in the early season, claiming first and second on the all-time list, with times of 28:40.40 & 28:45.46 respectively. Buysse was on their tails with a time of 29:05.99 that landed him fifth all-time. The trio eventually became part of an event squad ranked fifth in the nation by USTFCCAA.
Martins and Devaney went on to qualify in the 10k for the NCAA West Preliminaries. They ran in the NCAA semifinals out in California and were joined by teammate Jason Clayton. Clayton qualified for the men’s 1,500m, where he advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time in his career, running 3:41.76.
The Ramblers also excelled in the classroom. Kathleen Simms was tabbed the A10’s Post Graduate Award winner following her dedication to academics and athletics. Devaney and Martins earned USTFCCCA and A10 All-Academic Team honors during the cross country season, while both teams earned team recognition.
Haiss enjoyed a highly decorated career during her time with the Razorbacks. The Solon, Ohio native ran on the program's NCAA champion distance medley relay in 2015, earning her first of two All-America selections in the event to go along with three All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) nods. She also experienced individual success, taking fifth in the mile run at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships en route to being named an All-American before closing out her track & field career by qualifying for the 1,500m run at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Haiss also enjoyed a terrific stay with Arkansas' cross country program, helping lead the Razorbacks to SEC titles in 2016 and 2017. The two-time All-SEC selection made a pair of appearances at the NCAA Championships, placing 94th overall in her final cross country outing.
Prior to her arrival in Rogers Park, Haiss served as an assistant coach at the University of Toledo during the 2020-21 season. Her impact was immediately felt, as she helped guide the Rockets' women's cross country team to a runner-up finish at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships. In total, four Rockets took home All-MAC honors at the meet.
The success from the cross country season carried over to the track & field campaign, as Haiss played a vital role in the development and success of Stephanie Sherman, who took home All-America honors in the 10,000m run, and 1,500m run national qualifier Petronela Simiuc.
Haiss, an All-Academic Team honoree by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Associations (USTFCCCA), received her bachelor's degree in Biochemistry from Arkansas.
