AUBURN, Ala. – The LSU cross country team came up with its most impressive outing of the season Friday evening as the Lady Tigers finished fifth out of 30 teams at the Auburn Invitational, while the Tigers placed eighth out of 33 teams.
In a meet attended by a number of the top Southeastern Conference teams, the Lady Tigers were the second-highest SEC finisher, falling just five points short of fourth-place Georgia. The Tigers were the top SEC team in the men’s competition.
“We ran very well against a very tough field,” said LSU head coach Pat Henry. “If we can just be a little bit more consistent with a couple of people, we’re close to having something special. But the bottom line is, anytime you go to a meet and you finish ahead of teams like Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama, you know you had a productive meet.”
The Lady Tigers were paced by Amanda Occhi, who completed the women’s five-kilometer course in a season-best time of 17 minutes 35.23 seconds, finishing 18th out of 243 runners.
Martina Barkman finished 27th in a time of 17:43.89, followed by Susanne Stunz in 37th (17:55.63), Bridget Cusack in 39th (17:58.33) and Staci Cusimano in 53rd (18:14.76) to round out the Lady Tigers’ top five.
LSU finished with 174 points, just five behind fourth place Georgia. Michigan State won the meet with a score of 73, followed by North Carolina and South Florida. Hanne Lyngstad of Tulane won the meet in a time of 16:49.97.
On the men’s side, while the Tigers didn’t have a top 20 finisher, all five of their scoring runners finished within 24 seconds of one another. Billy Bohlke led the way for LSU finishing the men’s 8k course in a time of 25:44.10 and placing 40th out of 269 runners.
Frank Ensley placed 51st in a time of 25:56.39, followed by Frans Schimper in 58th (26:02.49), Brent Martin in 59th (26:03.15) and Kenny Henry in 64th (26:08.16) to round out the Tigers’ top five.
LSU finished with 272 points in the men’s team race. Princeton won the men’s title with 85 points, followed by South Florida, Southern Mississippi, Central Michigan and South Alabama to round out the top five. David Kimani of South Alabama won the individual title in a time of 24:16.59.
LSU returns home next weekend for its second to last meet of the regular season before heading to the SEC Championships in late October. LSU will host its final home meet of the season next Saturday morning at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge at 9 a.m.
Results From The Auburn Invitational:
October 1, 1999
Pine Hills Country Club
Men’s Team Results (Top 10)
1, Princeton, 85. 2, South Florida, 102. 3, Southern Mississippi, 108. 4, Central Michigan, 121. 5, South Alabama, 165. 6, Michigan State, 196. 7, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 249. 8, LSU, 272. 9, Georgia, 320. 10, Georgia Tech, 335.
LSU Individual Results (8k)
40, Billy Bohlke, 25:44.10. 51, Frank Ensley, 25:56.39. 58, Frans Schimper, 26:02.49. 59, Brent Martin, 26:03.15. 64, Kenny Henry, 26:08.16.
Women’s Team Results (Top 10)
1, Michigan State, 73; 2, North Carolina, 80; 3, South Florida, 116; 4, Georgia, 169; 5, LSU, 174; 6, Belmont, 204; 7, Vanderbilt, 220; 8, Tulane, 227; 9, Tennessee, 248; 10, Georgia Tech, 268. LSU Individual Results (5k)
18, Amanda Occhi, 17:35.23; 27, Martina Barkman, 17:43.89; 37, Susanne Strunz, 17:55.63; 39, Bridget Cusack, 17:58.33; 53, Staci Cusimano, 18:14.76.