Loyola's Valgoi and Milwaukee's Reilly Earn Runner of the Week Accolades

INDIANAPOLIS -- Loyola’s Gina Valgoi (Detroit, Mich.) and Milwaukee’s Jake Reilly (Waunakee, Wis.) have been named Horizon League Runners of the Week, for the week beginning Sept. 12.

Valgoi, a junior at Loyola, finished the 5K Illinois Intercollegiate course with a time of 17:33 to place third out of 291 runners. It is the second straight meet that she has finished as the Rambler’s top runner. It is the second time in Valgoi’s career that she has been named Runner of the Week. The team finished in third place out of 28 teams at the meet with 106 points, just three points shy of second.

Reilly had his second straight first-place finish after completing the Falcon Invitational in Mequon, Wis., in 25:31.9. He was the first Horizon League competitor to cross the finish line out of the 132-man field. He improved his 8K time from last week by almost 24 seconds while also leading his team to a first place team finish.

Loyola will take a week off before returning to action on Oct. 1, when it hosts the 39th annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational at Montrose Beach. Milwaukee will also have this weekend off before heading to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame Invitational on Oct. 1.

Other Top Performers for the Week:

Lauren McKillop, Butler (Jr.) - The junior led Butler to a runner-up finish at the Indiana Intercollegiate Meet with a time of 17:59. The Australia native was one of four runners to break the 18:00 mark at the race and had a fourth-place individual finish in the 5K race.

Tom Curr, Butler (Fr.) - Curr was running his first collegiate meet for the Bulldogs and didn’t disappoint as he was the top finisher for Butler at the Indiana Intercollegiate Meet. He ran the 8K course in 25:34 for 16th place overall.

Lauren Mauel, Green Bay (Jr.) - After garnering Runner of the Week honors last week, the junior won her first collegiate race at the Concordia Falcon Invite out of 138 competitors. She covered the 6K course in 22:41.1 to help her team to a second place finish.

Danny Docherty, Loyola (Sr.) - The senior helped Loyola to a second-place finish at the Illinois Intercollegiate last weekend after running the 8K course with a time of 24:40. He placed third overall out of 323 runners.

Cross Country Runners of the Week:

August 29:      Mara Olson (BU), Edwin Gay (Detroit)

Sept. 5:            Lauren Mauel (UWGB), Colin Creagh (Detroit)

Sept. 12:         Gina Valgoi (Loyola), Jake Reilly (Milwaukee)