BATON ROUGE — The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their post-season schedule Saturday when they travel to Oxford, Miss. to compete in the SEC Championships hosted by the University of Mississippi.
The men’s 8K race will begin at 10 a.m. CT with the women’s 5K race beginning at 11 a.m. Both races will be held on the Ole Miss Golf Course. Highlights of the meet can be seen on SEC Weekly, which will air on ESPNU Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m., and Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m.
This year’s SEC Championships will feature some of the nation’s best competition on the men’s and women’s side. No. 6 Alabama is a solid favorite in the men’s race, while No. 5 Florida expects to pace the women’s meet. The men’s 8K will also feature No. 24 Auburn and No. 28 Arkansas. The Razorbacks also bring the 29th ranked women’s squad into Oxford this weekend.
The LSU men will once again be led by sophomore Cullen Doody, who has paced the Tigers in all three meets this season. His best 8K time came at the Crimson Classic in September, where he clocked a 26:52.30. His highest finish was a 16th place effort at the LSU Invitational on September 26.
The team also seeks strong finishes from experienced juniors Ken Ehrhardt, Kyle Hecker, Sean Swanner and Tim Landry. Hecker cut his 8K time by nearly two minutes between the Crimson Classic and the LSU Invitational.
Sophomores Frank Bohn and Kenneth Schiffman will also compete Saturday for LSU.
Kyle Steele has paced the LSU freshman in the 8K race, as he clocked a 27:50.50 at the LSU Invitational. Freshmen Roger Cooke and Paras Shah have also contributed for the Tigers this season and look to have a strong showing on Saturday.
After missing the last two meets with illness, senior Katie Hamel will rejoin the Lady Tigers to compete in the SEC Championships. Hamel, a transfer from Tulane, paced the Lady Tigers in her only meet of the season, clocking an 18:43.50 at the Crimson Classic.
LSU will also expect strong finishes from sophomore Jenna Henssler and freshman Charlene Lipsey, who have led the Lady Tigers in Hamel’s absence. At the Crimson Classic, LSU Invitational and Chile Pepper Festival, Henssler and Lipsey finished within three seconds of one another.
Sophomores Laura Carleton and Amber Abbott, along with junior Lauren Ybarzabal, have also competed well for the Lady Tigers this season and look to have their best race of the year in Oxford.
Also competing for the Lady Tigers will be seniors Amal Esmail and Kayann Thompson, along with junior Devon Williams and sophomore Jessica Deutsch.
After competing in the SEC Championship, both the men’s and women’s teams will have a week to rest and train before the NCAA South Central Regional meet in Waco, Texas on Nov. 14.