COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The LSU cross country got a ninth place finish from its men’s team and an 11th place finish from the Lady Tigers at the NCAA South Central Regional Saturday morning at the Texas A&M Golf Course in College Station.
By virtue of not finishing among the top two teams, the season came to a close for both squads in a team perspective. However, Tiger standout Likhaya Dayile may have been able to extend his season to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 19. Susanne Strunz will have an outside shot at an at-large bid on the women’s side.
Dayile finished seventh, but will have to wait until Monday to see if he has qualified for his second straight NCAA Championship field. Dayile, who ran the men’s 10-kilometer course in a time of 30 minutes 41 seconds and was the fifth individual finisher not associated with an NCAA automatic qualifying team.
The first four individuals not associated with a qualifying team receive automatic NCAA bids. The NCAA will select 13 at-large candidates from the nation’s nine regional qualifying meets on Monday.
“Likhaya did not have his best race today, but I think he’ll still be able to make the NCAA field,” said LSU cross country coach Mark Elliott. “I think he stands a good chance, he has finished in the top five at every meet this year with the exception of today’s race. He went out a little faster than he should have and it took its toll on him during the later stages of the race.”
Jimmy Wiggins wrapped up an impressive season with a 33rd place finish in a time of 32:08. Ryan Raiford placed 47th, followed by Kenny Henry in 52nd and Brandon Guillory in 64th place to round out the Tigers’ top five finishers.
Arkansas, as expected, won the men’s team competition in convincing fashion with 56 points, while Texas earned the second NCAA automatic team spot with 115 points. Eliud Njubi of Texas Christian won the event in a time of 30:02.
On the women’s side, Strunz finished 13th, but was the eighth finisher not associated with an NCAA automatic qualifying team. Strunz finished the women’s 6k course in a time of 21:31 and earned All-Region honors by virtue of her top 15 finish. Like Dayile, Strunz will now have to wait until Monday to have her fate determined.
“Susanne will be on the bubble,” said Elliot. “We’ll have to wait and see if she can sneak into the NCAA field. Regardless, she’s had a fantastic season and I’m proud of her for finishing in the top five at the SEC Championships and earning All-Region honors here.”
Katie Denton finished 61st, followed by Katrina Flanders in 67th, Megan Szmajda in 80th and Dechelle Mack in 83rd to round out the Lady Tigers’ five scorers.
Arkansas completed a sweep of the regional titles, led by individual champion Adreinna Byrd, while Texas also finished second in the women’s team competition and earned an NCAA berth.