Sept. 25, 2007

The Loyola University Chicago men's and women's cross country programs will host the 35th Annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational on Saturday, September 29, along Montrose Avenue Beach on Chicago's north side. The meet, one of the largest in the nation, is sponsored by Asics and Dick Pond. This year there are over 50 collegiate teams and 100-plus elementary and high schools competing at Montrose Beach. As hosts, the Loyola men's team has won four titles in the last five years.

Formerly the Lakefront Invitational, the race became the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational in 2000 in honor of former Loyola student-athlete Sean Earl, who passed away in February of 2000 after a battle with cancer. The Lakefront was renamed by Earl's teammates as a tribute to him and to ensure that future Ramblers would not forget the outstanding qualities Earl exemplified while donning the Maroon and Gold.

The Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational features a variety of races for different age groups including a 2K race for elementary boys and girls and a 5,000m for high school junior varsity and varsity squads. The collegiate division (5,000m run for women; 8,000m run for men) is split into two races: Maroon and Gold. The Maroon Race will consist of NCAA Division II, III, NAIA and Canadian schools, while the Gold Race is composed of NCAA Division I and any ranked Division II, III, NAIA and Canadian schools as approved by meet management.

Some top NCAA Division I schools from across the country will be participating this year including Alabama, Iowa, Eastern Michigan, UIC and Purdue.

"The Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational is one of the biggest cross country meets in the country with just over 3,800 athletes competing from grade school up through age group runners," Loyola head coach Rick Wemple said. "It's exciting to be hosting an event of this magnitude and I am grateful to Lakeshore Athletic Services, Asics and Dick Pond, as well as the support staff in our department for helping us put this on."

The races will begin Saturday morning at 8 a.m. Parking is available off of the Wilson Avenue exit east of Lake Shore Drive on the left-hand side. Due to the large volume of participants, results will not be faxed or emailed; they will be posted on Loyola's athletics website, www.loyolaramblers.com, at approximately 4 p.m Central Time.