WACO, Texas — The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams wrapped up the season Saturday morning at the NCAA South Central Regional Championships as the Tigers finished sixth and the Lady Tigers placed 10th at the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.
Arkansas swept the meet’s team titles, as the men won their 16th straight regional title with 33 points and the women scored 45 points in taking home top honors. The pair, along with Texas on the men’s side and Baylor on the women’s side, earned automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 21 by virtue of their top-two finishes.
The Tigers finished the day with 186 team points, while the Lady Tigers tallied 266.
Individually, the Tigers were led by junior Drew Haro who finished 21st overall after completing the 10K course in 32:12.00. Senior Sam Mwape and freshmen Jacob Simmons came up with a pair of top-40 finishes as Mwape crossed the line in 34th (32:53.75) and Simmons clocked 32:59.80 to place 37th. Also scoring for the Tigers were Roland LeBlanc (53rd, 33:46.10) and Michael Hendry (65th, 34:08.00).
For the women, senior Michelle Hymel paced the squad for the fourth straight meet. She finished the 6K course 31st overall with an LSU-best time of 22:39.55. Rachael Graham followed in 47th with a time of 23:16.80. Other scorers included Jennifer Stark (69th, 24:02.85), Christy Zirkle (24:04.25) and Jennifer Radecker (84th, 24:31.00).
TEAM RESULTS (Top 10 only)
Men
1. Arkansas, 33
2. Texas, 46
3. Texas A&M, 128
4. Texas-Pan American, 147
5. Stephen F. Austin, 170
6. LSU, 186
7. TCU, 227
8. Texas State, 230
9. North Texas, 269
10. Louisiana Tech, 270
Women
1. Arkansas, 45
2. Baylor, 46
3. Rice, 78
4. Lamar, 115
5. Stephen F. Austin, 159
6. Texas A&M, 193
7. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 196
8. Texas Christian, 240
9. Texas, 242
10. LSU, 266