A number of Loyola Track & Field athletes took part in the Louis Zamperini Invitational held at Torrance High School this weekend, with three seniors earning first place medals and three relay teams winning their races at Zamperini Stadium on Saturday (Feb. 23).

Varsity:

To open the meet in the morning, senior Ethan Stauber ’19 won the 5000m open race with a time of 15:55.63, while fellow senior Michael Antonucci ’19 placed third (16:29.60). Another individual medal would go to senior Christian Sides ’19, who won the long jump with a leap of 21-02. Senior pole vaulter and 2018 CIF State finalist Will O’Brien ’19 then set a new personal best of 15-04, also winning his event.

Loyola would go on to post wins in the Varsity 1600m Sprint Medley Relay and the 4x800m relay in 7:52.94, while the 8x200m relay team took third with a time of 3:09.61.

Frosh/Soph:

The youngest members of Loyola T&F also performed well in their first meet away from Smith Field, winning the 4x800m relay with a time of 8:44.67. Additionally, the Cubs took second and third overall in the Frosh/Soph 800m Sprint Medley Relay (1:45.94), while also placing second in the Frosh/Soph 8x200m relay (3:20.35). 

This year, 27 schools competed in the annual meet held to honor the legacy of the legendary Louis Zamperini, a Torrance native, WWII veteran and Olympian. For more on Zamperini’s background, read his bio here.

Loyola will now gear up for a dual meet at Alemany in Mission Hills on Thursday (Feb. 28) at 3:15 p.m.