ALBUQUERQUE — The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams came up with identical third place finishes Saturday morning at the New Mexico Lobo Invitational in Albuquerque.
In its first national-caliber competition of the season, both teams responded well, as the Tigers were led by a runner-up finish from Likhaya Dayile in individual competition, while the Lady Tigers got a third place finish from Susanne Strunz.
“I thought we had a very good outing today,” said LSU cross country coach Mark Elliott. “I think we ran well in a very competitive field, we dealt with the altitude of New Mexico very well and got some great individual performances.”
Dayile, running his first race of the 2001 cross country season, finished second to Benjamin Payne of Air Force, coming up with a time of 24 minutes 38 seconds.
Jimmy Wiggins placed 10th for the Tigers, while Kenny Henry, a former Lobo runner and son of New Mexico coach Matt Henry, finished 16th to lead the way.
Air Force won the men’s team competition in dominating fashion, scoring 26, while host-New Mexico finished second with 49 points. LSU finished with 69.
On the women’s side, Strunz looked sharp in her first outing of the year, finishing third in a time of 22:49.00. Lindsay Daigle continued to show tremendous improvement, placing 12th, while newcomer Katie Denton finished 14th to lead the Lady Tigers.
The team standing looked identical to that of the men’s competition, as Air Force won with 30 points, while New Mexico finished second with 59. LSU finished with 66.
LSU now sets its sites on the Auburn Invitational next Saturday, a competition that will be held on the same course as the SEC Championships on Oct. 29.