COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Ashton Rainey recorded a top-30 finish as Lamar University competed at the NCAA South Central Regional Friday morning, hosted by Texas A&M at the Watts Cross Country Course. The men's team finished 17th out of 23 teams with 431 points, while the women placed 21st out of 25 teams with 498 points.

Arkansas claimed the women's 6,000-meter team title with 51 points. For the second consecutive year, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Elizabeth Khatevi (18:58.2) won the race as the only runner to break 19 minutes. Tulane captured the men's 10,000-meter team title with 44 points, edging Arkansas (48), which produced the top two individual finishers in Nick Busienei (28:57.1) and Ernest Cheruiyot (29:02.4).

Rainey had the best finish of all the Cardinals, placing 29th in 20:23.1. She was running 24th at the 1.6K split (6:31.4) before dropping five spots over the final 4.4K.

Sara Verschure finished 89th in 21:30.7. Freshmen Lily Davis (22:05.3) and Madison Akers (22:11.5) placed 117th and 123rd, respectively, while sophomore Lauren Polk closed out her season with a 171st-place finish in 24:13.2.

The men had three runners finish in the top 100, led by Ryan Servantes, who placed 65th in 31:40.9. He was running 57th at the 6.3K split before falling eight spots over the final 3.7K.

Geovany Cisneros (91st, 32:17.1) and Alexis Rodriguez (94th, 32:21.1) finished four seconds apart, while Guillaume Dupre (101st, 32:42.3) narrowly missed the top 100. The final three Cardinals to cross the finish line were Dominick Luna (112th, 33:05.4), Riley Trent (114th, 33:15.6) and Aaron Garcia (129th, 34:03.7).

The season saw both teams combine for eight top-10 finishes, including third-place results at the McNeese Season Opener. Both squads scored 146 points at the SLC Championships, with the men finishing fifth and the women placing sixth. Rainey earned first-team all-conference honors for the second consecutive season.

 

#PeckEmCards