BATON ROUGE — The LSU cross country team will have little margin for error on Saturday, as both the men’s and women’s teams travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Chilli Pepper Invitational, LSU’s final outing before the Southeastern Conference Championships.
The men will open the event at the University of Arkansas Cross Country Course with a 10-kilometer run at 9:30 a.m., while the women will follow at 10:30 with a 6k run.
In addition to host-Arkansas, which enters this weekend ranked No. 2 in the nation on the men’s side and 12th on the women’s side, a majority of teams in the NCAA South Central region will be on hand in a preview of November’s regional championship.
“On a regional level, this weekend’s meet is an opportunity to see what our team is made of and whether or not we have a realistic shot to be among that top two or three teams in the region next month,” said LSU coach Mark Elliott. “This weekend will go a long way in telling us where we are with the SEC and NCAA meets upcoming.”
The Tigers took last weekend off to rest for Saturday, while the Lady Tigers finished 13th at the Auburn Invitational. The Tigers haven’t run since Sept. 30 when they finished third at the LSU Invitational behind Likhaya Dayile, who won the men’s individual title.
Bridget Cusack returns to action after sitting out last weekend’s Auburn Invitational for the Lady Tigers. The junior finished eighth in her last outing at the LSU Invitational.
The Tigers finished seventh at the Chilli Pepper Invitational a year ago, while the Lady Tigers finished 10th.
LSU will take next weekend off before returning to action on Oct. 30 at the SEC Championships in Tuscaloosa, Ala.