Loyola's Murray, Valgoi Prepare for NCAA Indoor Championships

CHICAGO -- Loyola seniors Declan Murray (Strongsville, Ohio) and Gina Valgoi (Detroit, Mich.) will be representing the Horizon League this weekend at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.

Murray will be running in his fourth career NCAA championships, having competed in the outdoor championships in 2011 and 2012 and in the indoor championships last season. Valgoi is competing in her third consecutive NCAA running championships: outdoor 2012, cross country 2012 and now indoor 2013.

The senior duo qualified for the national championships by placing in the top 16 in the country in their respective events. Murray will run in one of two heats of the 800m semifinal, entering as the No. 7 seeded runner. If he can record one of the top eight times Friday night, Murray will advance to Saturday night's final. Murray won the 800m run at last month's Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships with a 1:51.65 time.

“I’m looking forward to heading down to Fayetteville,” Murray said in a release from Loyola. “Having the experience from last year is really valuable and showed me that I can go in and compete against some of the top athletes in the nation.  It’s going to be a really tough race.  Last year, two of the top three guys in the nation didn’t make the final so I really have to give it everything I have on Friday so I can make the final and get out there and compete on Saturday."

Valgoi will be competing in the 5000m final on Friday night, entering the race as the No. 12 seed. She won the 5000m at the Horizon League Indoor Championships in Youngstown, Ohio, posting a 17:29.92 finish. Valgoi also won the 3000m and the mile run at the event and was the individual champion at the Horizon League Cross Country Championships in Kenosha, Wis., last October.

“It means a lot to me to be going to the indoor national meet,” Valgoi said. “It’s a big deal to represent Loyola at such a high caliber meet and to have the opportunity to run against other spectacular athletes.”

Ramblers head coach Randy Hasenbank is expecting to see big results from his seniors at this weekend's NCAA Championships.

“Declan and Gina are very capable and they’re not going to Fayetteville with the mindset of just being happy to be there,” Hasenbank said. “They’re capable of competing with anyone in the country on any given night in their respective events.  We want to establish our program on the national stage and this is another step in the right direction in doing just that.”

ESPN3 will provide live video coverage of the action on both days.