Sept. 30, 2005

CHICAGO, Ill. - Loyola University Chicago men's and women's cross country will host the 33 annual Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational this Saturday (Oct. 1) at Montrose Avenue Beach on Chicago's North Side. This year, Nike and Fleet Feet will be sponsoring the annual event that features over 50 collegiate teams, 35 high school teams and 20 elementary school squads, making it one of the largest cross country meets in the nation. The Loyola men's team is looking to capture its fourth consecutive meet title this year.

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

The invite features a 2K race elementary boys and girls, and a 5,000-meter race for both high school freshman-sophomore and varsity squads. The collegiate division (5,000m run for women and 8,000m run for men) will be split into two divisions this year, Maroon and Gold. The Gold division will consist of Division I schools and a select group of nationally ranked schools from other divisions, while the Maroon division will consist of Division II, III, NAIA and junior college squads.

Division I schools participating this year include Marquette, DePaul, Marshall, Southeast Missouri State and Eastern Michigan. Some of the top non-Division I teams participating are NAIA powerhouses Malone College and Azusa Pacific University. Area high schools Loyola Academy, New Trier, Brother Rice and Fenwick will compete in the high school division, as well as Shawnee Mission East from Kansas, Hamilton High School and Brookfield Central from Wisconsin, and Liberty Benton from Ohio.

"We are very excited to be hosting the 33rd annual version of the Sean Earl Loyola Lakefront Invitational," said LU head coach Marc Burns. "This race is rich in history and we take pride in making it bigger and better this year and it is truly a showcase of talent at all ages."

For any questions regarding the Sean Earl Lakefront Invitational, contact Burns at (773) 508-2582 or mburns2@luc.edu.

Schedule of Races
8 a.m.		Elementary Boys/Girls 2K
8:30 a.m.	JV Boys/Girls - Open 5,000m
9 a.m.		High School Girls - Frosh-Soph 5,000m
9:30 a.m.	High School Boys - Frosh-Soph 5,000m
10 a.m.		High School Girls - Varsity 5,000m
10:30 a.m.	High School Boys - Varsity 5,000m
11 a.m.		Women's Maroon Division Collegiate/Open 5,000m
11:35 a.m.	Men's Maroon Division Collegiate/Open 8,000m
12:15 p.m.	Women's Gold Division Collegiate/Open 5,000m
12:45 p.m.	Men's Gold Division Collegiate/Open 8,000m
1:30 p.m.	Collegiate Awards Presentation