BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s cross country team came up with its best finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship in over a decade, placing fourth at Harry Pritchett Golf Course in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Monday morning. The Lady Tigers finished 11th in the women’s competition.
The finish by the men’s team was the Tigers’ best finish since placing second in 1989. Arkansas swept the team titles for the third consecutive year, winning easily on both sides.
“We ran very well on the men’s side, it’s our best finish in a long time,” said LSU coach Mark Elliott. “This team has a lot to be proud of, they ran their hearts out.”
Likhaya Dayile paced the Tigers with a ninth place finish, completing the men’s eight-kilometer course in 25 minutes 25.92 seconds. It was the highest finish for a Tiger since 1995.
Alabama tried to use the home course advantage to end Arkansas’ reign on the men’s side, but came up short. David Kimani of Alabama won the event in 24:19.03, but Arkansas took five of the top 10 spots in the competition en route to a 27-43 victory for its 11th straight crown.
Florida finished third with 98, followed by LSU with 115 and Auburn in fifth with 134.
Billy Bohlke placed 22nd for the Tigers, followed by Ryan Raiford in 23rd, Kenny Henry in 26th, and Brandon Guillory in 35th to round out LSU’s top five finishers.
The Lady Tigers got a pair of strong finishes from Susanne Strunz and Bridget Cusack, but not the kind of top-to-bottom team performance it needed on Monday.
‘The finish by the women’s team is not indicative of the kind of team we have which is disappointing,’ said Elliott. ‘We’re a better team than we showed today.’
Strunz finished 15th overall, finishing the women’s 6k course in a time of 22:02.17, while Cusack finished 21st in 22:22.02. The Lady Tigers’ chances took a significant turn for the worse in the middle of the race when their No. 3 runner, Elizabeth Woodworth, fell out of the race.
Megan Szmajda finished 60th, followed by Katrina Flanders in 63rd and Jenni Johnson in 64th to round out the Lady Tigers’ top five finishers.
Lilli Kleinman of Arkansas won the women’s individual title, beating teammate Tracy Robertson to help the Lady ‘Backs to their third consecutive title. Georgia finished second followed by Auburn, Florida and Alabama to round out the top five.
Both LSU squads will now rest next weekend before competing in the NCAA South Central Regional Championships in Denton, Texas on Nov. 11. LSU will be looking to qualify for the NCAA Championship field for the first time in school history.
SEC Cross Country Championships
Oct. 30, 2000
Harry Pritchett Golf Course
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Men’s Results
Team Scores
1.Arkansas, 27. 2. Alabama, 43. 3. Florida, 98. 4. LSU, 115. 5. Auburn, 134. 6. Georgia, 162. 7. Tennessee, 163. 8. Ole Miss, 174. 9. Kentucky, 245. 10. Vanderbilt, 292.
Individual Results (Top 10)
8k course
1.David Kimani, Alabama, 24:19.03. 2. James Karanu, Arkansas, 24:23.75. 3. Murray Link, Arkansas, 24:30.15. 4. Daniel Lincoln, Arkansas, 24:35.87. 5. Chris Mutai, Alabama, 24:44.44. 6. Japheth Koech, Alabama, 25:00.61. 7. Chris Duncan, Florida, 25:11.91. 8. Mark Thompson, Arkansas, 25:18.04. 9. Likhaya Dayile, LSU, 25:25.92. 10. Frans Schimper, Arkansas, 25:29.47.
Additional LSU finishers
22. Billy Bohlke, 26:38.14. 23. Ryan Raiford, 26:39.10. 26. Kenny Henry, 26:40.01. 35. Brandon Guillory, 27:07.23. 42. Jeffrey Wiggins, 27:18.67. 54. Jason Laine, 28:16.05.
Women’s Results
Team Scores
1.Arkansas, 43. 2. Georgia, 74. 3. Auburn, 85. 4. Florida, 121. 5. Alabama, 153. 6. Vanderbilt, 171. 7. Mississippi State, 191. 8. Tennessee, 196. 9. South Carolina, 219. 10. Kentucky, 221. 11. LSU, 223. 12. Ole Miss, 358.
Individual Results (Top 10)
6k course
1.Lilli Kleinman, Arkansas, 20:11.08. 2. Tracy Robertson, Arkansas, 20:31.12. 3. Sharon Dickie, Tennessee, 20:47.15. 4. Aly Mills, Alabama, 21:23.43. 5. Nerissa Johnson, Auburn, 21:24.63. 6. Ashley LaBudde, Alabama, 21:28.99. 7. Amy Wiseman, Arkansas, 21:30.19. 8. Alexis Hamblet, Auburn, 21:35.15. 9. Erin Jones, Georgia, 21:36.35. 10. Amy Odermatt, Auburn, 21:40.98.
LSU finishers
15. Susanne Strunz, 22:02.17. 21. Bridget Cusack, 22:22.02. 60. Megan Szmajda, 24:26.87. 63. Katrina Flanders, 24:40.78. 64. Jenni Johnson, 24:41.62. 75. Nicole Driscoll, 26:00.20. 77. Dechelle Mack, 26:21.43.