Dec. 8, 2007

The Loyola University Chicago track and field teams kicked off their respective indoor seasons at the Redbird Invitational at Illinois State University on Saturday at the Horton Field House.

Pacing the Loyola men in the 200m dash timed-section finals, was junior Geoff Bishop. The Palatine, Ill., native placed second among 31 competitors posting a time of 22.62. Also finishing in the top ten for the Ramblers were sophomore Donte Prisby, who placed fifth (22.93), followed by senior Edmund Blankson, who captured eighth with a time of 23.41 and sophomore Tom Andreoni who garnered a tenth-place finish (23.69).

Making his Rambler debut, sophomore Sam McClain finished first in the men's 800m run finals with a time of 2:01.74.

Leading the Ramblers in the men's long jump was sophomore Jamar Johnson. Johnson's 21'02.75" (6.47m) was good for a fifth-place finish out of 16 competitors.

Senior Jimel Denham posted a time of 52.09 for a ninth-place finish in the men's 400m dash timed-section finals.

On the women's side, junior Pam Staton led Loyola in the mile run timed-section finals with a first-place finish. The junior from Ingleside, Ill., posted a time of 5:10.12. Following Staton was sophomore Jena Brown. Brown came in fifth out of eight competitors with a time of 5:35.97. Rounding out the mile run for the LU women were Caitlin Ferry who placed sixth (5:48.63) and Haden Knight who finished eighth (6:12.51).

In the women's 200m dash timed-section finals, senior Christina James paced the Ramblers with a time of 2:28.69. James finished sixth among 24 runners. Lauren Smith came in tenth and garnered a time of 27.76.

The Ramblers are off until Friday, January 18 when they travel to Indiana to compete at the Notre Dame Opener. The meet is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.