Loyola track sets eight school records at Southern Miss Invitational

Posted: March 17, 2010 for Cross Country and Track

Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Loyola University New Orleans track team competed in the Southern Miss Invitational at the Marshall Bell Track and Field Complex on Saturday, and came away with eight new program records.

For the men, Daniel Afanador set three records; in the 200 meter with a 23.28, placed seventh in the 400 meter with a Loyola best 51.69, and teamed up with Neal Outland, Kenny Tsao, and Alex Hall in the 4x400 relay for a time of 3:42.20.

Outland ran the 200 meter at 24.93 and the 400 meter in 55.06 while Hall posted a 54.75.

In the 800 meter, Tsao ran a 2:10.91 and Galen Westerfield ran a 2:32.63.

For the 1500 meter, Tsao was tops for Loyola with a 4:33.43, with Alex Mayon and Adam Mayon right behind with a 4:48.80 and 4:52.20 respectively. Westerfield finished with a 5:09.39 and Robert Hayden ran a 5:24.53. Alex Mayon also ran the 5000 meter in 18:51.06. 

For the women, five records were set with Sarah Tortorich leading the way with two individual records and one team record. She ran Loyola bests in the 100 meter at 12.99 and in the 200 meter at 26.27. In the 4x400 relay, she teamed up with Alexandra Lain, Lauren Fincher, and Jenna Knoblach to run a 4:20.39.

In the 400 meter events, Knoblach set a record with a time of 1:06.41 while Fincher set a new mark in hurdles at 1:11.14. Rounding out the results, Lain ran the 200 meter at 28.42 and the 100 meter hurdles in 18.35.

“This was our first outdoor meet of the season, and I believe our times will improve,” said head coach Andy Canegitta. “I look for us to break our records in the next meet.”

The Loyola track team returns to action on March 26-27 in the LSU Relays.