Race: Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront
Location: Montrose Park, Chicago IL
Date: October 1, 2011
Return of the King
Men’s Preview
Simba has returned to Pride Rock and is ready to once again rule the Pride Lands. Yes Andrew Yorke is back and in fine form after a 4th place US Triathlon Nationals last weekend. He’s running his cross opener with Timon and Pumba (John Rasmussen, Taylor Reid), returning from the jungle of triathlon racing to man up and face there fears in the Pride Lands (get it, triathlons are silly). Jordan "Beerme a great opener" Bierema is fired up to debut his season as well after sitting out at Western. Look for him to be flying right from the gate. Let’s not forget about captain Cory "Mufasa" McCurry who led the marauders in a character defining race at Western. Graham Bowes will also be planning to score for the Marauders after a solid Intra-Squad and a mediocre Western race (yah that’s right, I called you mediocre).
On the fringe of scoring will be Ryan Tice who had a fantastic run in London last weekend and seems to have flipped the switch from all-star cheerio flag-maker to all-star cross country stud. The rest of the Marauders will be a wash for predictions as they seem to be fairly evenly matched at this point in the season. Rookies Zac "Rabbit" Brown and Blair "Witch Project" Morgan had solid University debuts at the tough Thames Valley course, and will now get to showcase some of their speed in the reasonably flat 8k and fast Lakefront course. Andrew Bysice is back for his cross country opener, and will be looking to make an impression. Rookie Taylor Forbes learned how to hurt the University way at Western and will be excited to be racing anywhere else this weekend. Sean Bowen, Tristan Sandhu, and Eric Barry will be looking for redemption races this weekend after subpar races last weekend. But hey guys, Hakuna Matata!
Hakuna Matata
Women’s Preview
Hakuna Matata, it means no worries, and the Mac Women have none after a close loss to Guelph at Western International last weekend. They know OUAs and CISs is where they want to be teaching "The Circle of Life" to their rivals. The Marauder scorers at Western finished with an impressive spread of a mere 7 seconds. Lead by queen Sarabi, Lindsay Carson, and followed closely by young Nala, Victoria Coates, the battle for queen bee (or lioness rather) is heating up. Jill Wyman is going to be tough to keep out of the top spot as the flatter course this weekend plays to her strengths. Also scoring for the marauders last weekend and likely to do so again were training partners Courtney Patterson and Stephanie MacNeill. Although the rivalry seems close, these lionesses aren’t out for individual glory, they just keep singing “WE just can’t wait to be king!”
Just outside of the top 5 at Western was 4th year Sara Giovannetti, who will be joined by captain Katie "Can feel the love tonight" Anderson and Sarah Haliburton in their season debuts as they try to secure top 7 positions, and to crack the ellusive top 5. Looking to build on a successful season opener, Rachel Lamb will use the momentum she picked up at Western to try to stay one step ahead of this year’s rookie class. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed or as they are known in real life, Chelsea MacKinnon, Laura Morrison, and Sarah Wilson all ran well at Western as they start to get adjusted to the more competitive University scene after being highschool heroes. Rounding out the impressive squad will be Lizz Hodgson and Ashley Kellam, who both ran very well at Western (they would’ve have been the first or second runner for 7 of the 17 schools present!) and will be ones to look out for this weekend.
Western International Results
Last Year's Loyola Results
Course Map
Women's Loyola All-Time
Men's Loyola All-Time
OUA Teams Competiting
Western, Windsor
Weather Report
The weather looks like it will cooperate on race day, but it's been raining all week so hopefully we don't have any Rob Gibbs out there that can't handle a little moisture.
Be Prepared!
Zazu
