WACO, Texas ? LSU’s Jacob Simmons received all-region honors Saturday at the NCAA South Central Regional in leading the LSU men’s cross country team to a seventh place finish at the Cotton Creek Golf Course.
Simmons placed 16th overall while completing the 10k course with a time of 31 minutes, 26.3 seconds. His effort led the Tigers to 215 points in the team standings.
With his Top 25 finish, Simmons now awaits a potential at-large berth into the NCAA Cross Country Championships to be held in Terre Haute, Ind., on Nov. 24. The native of Houma, La., clocked a seasonal best of 31:01.2 to place 23rd in regional action in 2007.
Joining Simmons on the men’s side was Andy Florek, who earned a 43rd-place finish on the afternoon with a time of 32:39.2. Crossing the finish line and also scoring for the Tigers were Richard Chautin in 47th place (32:49.2), Alan Sticker in 53rd place (32:57.5) and Cullen Doody in 73rd place (33:40.3).
The 22nd-ranked Texas A&M Aggies won the men’s team title while scoring 39 points on the day, while No. 24 Arkansas also earned automatic qualification into the NCAA meet by finishing in second place with 44 points.
The Lady Tigers finished the meet in 17th place after tallying a total of 436 points for the meet, competing against a highly competitive field that included SEC champion No. 12 Arkansas, No. 18 Baylor, No. 19 SMU and No. 22 Rice. The Razorbacks ran away with the regional title on the women’s side with 51 points. Rice and Baylor tied for second place with 61 points apiece.
Senior Christina Porter continued to lead the Lady Tiger pack, placing 67th overall with a time of 23:11.7 on the 6k course. Porter placed 76th in her last appearance at the South Central Regional a year ago while clocking in at 23:28.7.
This wraps up the 2008 season for LSU’s cross country teams. Simmons will now await a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Championships, which will be announced by the selection committee in the coming days.
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RESULTS
Team Results
Men
1. Texas A&M, 39
2. Arkansas, 44
3. Lamar, 74
4. Texas, 112
5. Rice, 164
6. Texas-Pan America, 181
7. LSU, 212
8. Stephen F. Austin, 251
9. Tex A&M Corpus Christi, 283
10. Baylor, 288
Women
1. Arkansas, 51
2. Baylor, 61
3. Rice,61
4. SMU, 103
5. Texas, 134
17. LSU,436
Individual Results (plus LSU runners)
Men
1, Shadrack Songok, Texas A&M, 29:52.1. 16, Jacob Simmons, 31:26.3.43, Andy Florek, 32:39.2. 47, Richard Chautin, 32:49.2. 53, Alan Sticker, 32:57.5. 73, Cullen Doody, 33:40.3.106, Kyle Hecker, 35:07.8. 112, Tim Landry, 35:44.1.
Women
1, Nicole Mericle, Rice, 20:34.7. 67, Christina Porter, 23:11.7. 81, Laura Carleton, 23:39.5. 105, Jenna Hensseler, 25:07.0. 108, Amber Abbot, 25:12.2. 119, Lauren Ybarzabal, 26:40.3.