LAKE CHARLES, La. - For the second time this season, Lamar University's cross country teams ran at McNeese State University and sought out similar success much like earlier in the season. Though they would have one individual champion in
Yasmin Austridge, the women's team took second place while the men's team finished fourth at the Cowboy Stampede.
In the six-team women's 5K competition, LU and McN both had four members in the top 10. But the Cowgirls claimed the team title by three points with 34 while the Cardinals settled for second with 37. Still, they were led by Austridge, who won her second individual title this season with a time of 17:55.8 seconds.
Nia Clatworthy took fifth place with a time of 18:23.9 seconds while
Jillian Howard finished nearly 22 seconds behind (18:45.1) to earn seventh place.
Mykayla Mims crossed the line in 10th place at 19:01.1 seconds.
Ashleigh Willis (14th; 19:45.0) and
Hailey Cleggett (18th; 20:23.5) ended up in the tens while
Jazaline Ayala (21:56.2) and
Natalee Bergeron (22:20.9) ran 26th and 27th place respectively.
"Our women competed really well today," said assistant coach
Andrew Sweeney. "Yasmin showed what she's capable of by running away with the win while Nia and Jill ran strong in the lead pack for most of the race. Mykayla was crucial for us by making a big move in the second half of the race. We fell short of the team win, but gained experience competing at the front of a race."
The men's four-mile event saw LU finish fourth out of five teams with 84 points. Only one Cardinal in
Hayden Eubank landed in the top 10 as his time of 20:20.1 was good for a tenth place finish to lead all LU runners.
Crawford Kiser (20:31.6) and
Alejandro Villalva (20:43.4) took 14th and 15th place respectively while
Jonathan Rivera (21st; 21:07.0) was one second off being inside the top 20.
Geovany Cisneros' 33rd place finished earned him a time of 22:47.9 seconds while
Aaron Saenz cracked the top 40 with a 38th place finish at 25:06.5 seconds.
"We only took our freshmen and wanted them to see what it's like having to be the leaders for our group," said Coach Sweeney. "Hayden had an impressive top 10 finish thanks to a strong kick, and Crawford ran a steady race close behind. Alejandro really stepped it up as our number three guy. It was a big breakout for him. We let the heat get to us a bit too much, and they're still learning, but overall I was pleased with their maturity and execution."
