BATON ROUGE — Returning nearly its entire men’s and women’s squads from a year ago, the LSU cross country team enters the 2003 season with experience, depth and its eye on the top half of the SEC standings.
In 2002, the Tigers finished eighth and the Lady Tigers placed ninth at the conference championships, but LSU cross country and distance coach Mark Elliott believes this year’s teams have enough talent to break into the top ranks of the SEC.
“Each year our goal is perform better than the year before,” said Elliott. “I think realistically, both the men’s and women’s programs have the ability to finish among the top five or six in the conference.
“Our conference is always extremely competitive with teams like Arkansas leading the way. However, with the athletes we have returning and the incoming freshmen I believe we can have a successful season.”
On the men’s side, LSU returns seven letterwinners from a year ago, including four of the five athletes that ran for the Tigers at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships. Pacing the 2003 team will likely be senior Jimmy Wiggins and juniors Jarett Roche’ and Ben Shumaker.
The lone senior on the Tigers’ squad, Wiggins will likely anchor this year’s team. Wiggins did not run cross country for the Tiger last season, but had a successful 2003 campaign on the track, recording the eighth-best 10,000 meter time in school history.
Roche’ and Shumaker each return for their third season after finishing as LSU’s top two runners at NCAA Regional meet a year ago.
The Tigers also landed one of the top distance recruits in the state in Daniel Sayko. A product out of West Monroe High School, Sayko will likely make an immediate impact on the Tiger squad after winning three straight Louisiana state cross country titles as a prep. Recruited by some of the top program in the SEC, Sayko choose LSU over Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee.
Heading into the 2003 campaign the Lady Tigers face nearly the same situation as their male counterparts. LSU’s women’s team returns eight letterwinners from a year ago, including the entire team that participated at last year’s NCAA Regional Championships.
Junior Katie Denton is expected to lead the Lady Tigers this season after posting a solid sophomore campaign. Denton, was the Lady Tigers’ top finisher at the NCAA Regional Championships a year ago and finished among LSU’s top three in each of the five races in which she participated.
Also providing leadership and depth for the Lady Tigers this fall will be lone senior Katrina Flanders and sophomore Michelle Hymel. Both Flanders and Hymel were solid contributors for the Lady Tigers a year ago, placing among LSU’s top five in each of the six races of the season
The Lady Tigers will also look to incoming freshmen Whitney Mitchell and Janee’ Routh to bolster the LSU roster. Mitchell, comes to LSU from Petrides High School in Staten Island, N.Y., while Routh, a Baton Rouge product attended St. Joesph’s Academy.
The LSU cross country team begins the 2003 season Saturday, Sept. 5 at the Tulane Invitational in New Orleans. The Tigers and Lady Tigers will play host to one meet this season when they welcome teams from throughout the South to Highland Road Park for the LSU Invitational, Sept. 27.