Record-setting Luckoski leads Loyola runners in 2026 opener

NEW ORLEANS — Senior Jace Luckoski and sophomore Meera Hijazi were the fastest finishers for Loyola University's cross country teams Friday in the season-opening Battle for New Orleans at Lake Oaks Park.
 

Luckoski ran 5,000 meters in a school-record 15 minutes, 27.3 seconds to place 14th out of 82 men. Hijazi ran 4,000 meters in 16:50.4 to place 49th out of 93 women.
 

The previous Loyola men's 5K record was 15:38 by Hayden Ricca at the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl Invitational.
 

The Loyola men placed third out of eight schools with 79 points and finished ahead of NCAA Division I schools LSU New Orleans (formerly the University of New Orleans), Nicholls, Southeastern Louisiana and Southern. Loyola, a longtime NAIA member, will move to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference for the 2027-28 academic year.
 

The Loyola women placed seventh out of 10 schools with 223 points and finished ahead of Southeastern Louisiana and Southern.
 

Also competing for the Loyola men were Jacob Kennedy, 20th in 15:57.6; Dylan Brown, 23rd in 16:06.1; Cole Savoy, 25th in 16:09.8; Adam Merkle, 27th in 16:21.4; Aubrey Gibson, 29th in 16:25.6; Alastair Casler, 37th in 17:04.5; Drake Breland, 41st in 17:09.8; Jacob Mullis, 47th in 17:39.2; Carter Dural, 51st in 17:50.5; Mason Mack, 61st in 18:31.2; Cris Velasquez, 64th in 18:52.5; Chase Rogers, 65th in 19:09.9; and Joseph Medina, 68th in 19:22.3.
 

Also competing for the Loyola women were Genevieve Blanc, 54th in 17:11.3 in her collegiate debut; Sela Myers, 58th in 17:41.0; Kinslie Badon, 67th in 18:47.6; Sophia Freeze, 72nd in 19:37.1; Vivian Bravo, 75th in 19:50.7; Caitlyn Summers, 78th in 20:20.8; and Sara Haas, 81st in 21:20.2.
 

Next for Loyola's women and men will be their home meet, the Loyola Triangular on Sept. 25 at Parc des Familles in suburban Westwego, Louisiana.
 

Subscribe to Pack Tracks, a Loyola Athletics Newsletter, for all of the latest information >> https://loyolawolfpack.com/subscribe.aspx. You can also keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.