Posted: October 4, 2009 for Cross Country and Track

Pensacola, Fla.- The Loyola men’s and women’s cross country teams continued to improve as the Wolfpack competed Saturday morning at the Gulf Coast Stampede at the Pensacola Equestrian Center.

On the men’s side, each Wolfpack runner with 8,000 meter experience posted personal bests with Kieran Harper leading the charge. Harper led Loyola with a time of 29:13 to finish 51st. Alex Mayon was three places behind Harper with a time of 30:03. Other Wolfpack runners included Parker Carignan 30:36 (67th), Galen Westerfield 30:49 (69th), Chris Graugnard 32:25 (78th), Alex Hall 32:28 (79th), Adam Mayon 33:02 (81st), Kenny Tsao 33:40 (82nd). It was the first time that Carignan ran in an 8K event. All other Wolfpack runners ran personal bests.

Loyola finished in 9th out of the 11 teams that participated. It was the first time since 2004 that four Wolfpack competitors ran under 31 minutes in an 8k event.

In the women’s 5,000 meter meet, Loyola had four competitors earn personal bests. Hannah Dougherty was the top Wolfpack runner with a time of 20:20 to finish 37th. It was the best performance of the season for the freshman. Lauren Fereday was the next Loyola runner over the line with a time of 22:41 for 70th place.

Joining Dougherty with PR’s were Annelise Ricket with a 22:46 in 71st place, Clare Hearns 22:52 in 73rd, and Jenna Knoblach 23:48 in 78th. 

Mary Clara Hutchison made her debut for the Wolfpack and ran a 22:54 for 75th place. Other competitors for Loyola were Joilynn Hollies 25:02 in 83rd and Olivia Taylor 26:25 in 89th.

It was the first time since 2004 that Loyola had five runners run under 23 minutes in a 5000 meter race. Loyola finished 11th out of 12 teams.

The Loyola cross country team returns to action on Saturday, October 10th at the Watson Ford Invitational in Clinton, Miss.