LAKE CHARLES, La. – The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams will open up their seasons Friday at the McNeese 6k Relays as the meet is scheduled to commence at 6 p.m. CT at the Enos Derbonne Sports Complex.
The meet will feature pairings running in a cross country relay format with each Lady Tiger running 3k in the women’s 6k race and each Tiger running 4k in the men’s 8k race.
As Khadevis Robinson enters his fourth season as LSU’s head cross country coach, he is seeking a successful opener for the third year in a row at the McNeese 6k Relays.
In both 2014 and 2015, an LSU women’s pair finished in first place, while an LSU men’s pair also had a top-two finish in the 2015 season. With the success in the past two seasons, LSU’s head coach expects to see improvement.
“My goal for this first meet is to see who has put the work in over the summer,” Robinson said. “I want to see who came back determined to do better than last year, and who has chosen to reach their full potential.”
The Tigers return a stable of runners who appeared at the McNeese 6k Relays a year ago with seniors Blair Henderson and Christian Johnson; juniors DC Lipani, Bryan Stamey, Daniel Tanner and Jack Wilkes and rising sophomore and 2015 SEC Men’s Freshman Cross Country Runner of the Year Dajour Braxton ready to compete. Freshman Harrison Martingayle will also make his collegiate debut in the meet.
The women’s team returns an experienced squad from last year’s team, including sophomore Erika Lewis, who finished in first place in the women’s race with former Tiger Morgan Schuetz at the McNeese 6k Relays to open the 2015 season.
Lewis is joined by senior Ashley Welborn; juniors Hannah Deworth, Monica Guillot and Rebecca Little; sophomore Hannah Bourque and freshmen Ellen Barkemeyer and Ruby Stauber, who will both make their collegiate debuts on Friday night.
Pairings for the Tigers include Henderson and Braxton, Lipani and Martingayle, Johnson and Wilkes and Stamey and Fountain. Pairings for the Lady Tigers include Welborn and Bourque, Stauber and Little, Barkemeyer and Deworth and Guillot and Lewis.
Upon finishing the McNeese Cross Country 6K Relays, both the men’s and women’s teams will travel to Houston where they will compete in the Rice Invitational on Friday, September 9. The women will begin the meet at 6:15 p.m. CT with the men following shortly after at 6:45 p.m.
For the latest information on LSU’s men’s and women’s cross country teams, fans can follow the Tigers and Lady Tigers on Twitter @LSUTrackField and on Facebook by liking LSU Track & Field.