Sept. 29, 2007

The Loyola cross country program hosted the 35th Annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational Saturday at Montrose Beach in an event that featured 11 races ranging from the elementary level through the collegiate level. In the Collegiate Gold Division the Rambler women placed seventh (221 points) among 19 teams, while the men finished 14th (370 points) out of 21 squads.

The Rambler women were led by sophomore Colleen Donovan who finished 24th out of 203 runners in the 5,000m with a time of 18:45. Following behind Donovan were junior Genevieve Binnie and freshman Alison Rack, who placed 40th (19:09) and 54th (19:22), respectively.

Freshman Ben Reifenberg paced the Rambler men, with an 8,000m time of 25:59 for a 42nd-place finish out of 234 competitors. Other top finishers for the men were sophomore Matt McCabe with a time of 26:24 and freshman Anthony Wile who garnered a time of 26:35 to finish 70th and 88th, respectively.

Purdue won the team championship for the women's Gold division with 80 points. Case Western's Esther Erb captured the number one spot with a time of 17:35 in the 5,000m race. On the men's side, Malone captured the Gold division championship with 46 points. The Pioneers were led by senior Ryan Kienzie, whose 24:34 8,000m markwas good for a first-place finish.

In the Collegiate Maroon Division, Missouri Southern won the women's team title with 32 points, and was led by sophomore Kimi Shank who placed first with an 18:09 finish. Ferris State took the men's title with 55 points and junior Jared Kelsh finished first overall with a time of 25:41.

Loyola Academy took the team title in the girls' high school varsity race, with a 118-point finish, while Sandburg's Kristin Sutherland placed first individually with a mark of 18:06. Wheaton North placed first in the boys' varsity race for the second consecutive year with 39 points. Brother Rice's Rich Eber finished first for the boys individual title with a time of 15:34. Sandburg claimed the JV girls team title with 49 points, while freshman Meredith Diamond of St. Ignatius was the top finisher overall with a 22:36 mark. Lyons Township took both the team and individual titles in the JV boys race, finishing with 20 points while senior Paul Smith garnered a time of 17:44 for a first-place finish. St. Alexander Elementary School won both the boys' and girls' race with 62 and 19 points, respectively.

The Ramblers return to action Saturday, October 13 at the NCAA Pre-National Meet in Terre Haute, Ind. at 10 a.m.