BEAUMONT, Texas - The Lamar University men's and women's cross country teams are prepared to run in the Southland Conference Championships Friday in Natchitchoes, La. The meet will take place at the Walter P. Ledet Track Complex and be hosted by Northwestern State.
The Cardinals last ran in the Arturo Barrios Invitational hosted by Texas A&M nearly two weeks ago. The men's team finished 20th overall in the 8,000 meters and were led by
Adrian Hahn Vadstein (96th), who set a personal record by clocking a 24:32.9. The women placed 30th overall in the 6K with
Ashton Rainey having the strongest performance running 39th (20:42), a new PR.
In the three preceding meets, the two teams have combined for four top-20s, with their best being at the NSU XC Opener. The men placed scored 60 points to finish second, led by two top-10s from Hahn Vadstein (19:01.78) and
Andres Padron (19:06.01), finishing 8th and 9th, respectively. The women claimed third with 88 points as Rainey (14:31.6) took fifth in the meet.
LU will look to have a three-peat from the women's team, who won the 2024 conference title meet with 43 points, including three all-conference runners who placed in the top eight. The current Cardinals roster includes three athletes who were on that team — Rainey (28th; 22:50.40),
Anna Eischen (48th; 24:05.03), and
Eleana Campos (68th; 25:27.77).
The men's team will look to improve on a sixth-place finish last season, as they totaled 146 points while claiming two all-conference honors. Five members of the current squad ran in the meet, including
Riley Trent (46th; 27:19.20), Vadstein (47th; 27:30.62),
Alexis Rodriguez (49th; 27:32.35), Padron (27:44.38), and
Treyton Showen (61st; 28:14.3).
The conference championship meet will start with the women's 6K at 8:30 a.m., while the men will open their 8K run at 9:30 a.m.
