BATON ROUGE – The LSU men’s cross country team had a strong showing as they finished second in the 2016 LSU Invitational scoring 45 points at Highland Road Park. The women scored 55 points, good enough for a third-place team finish. Both the men and women ran the 5k course.
Sophomore Dajour Braxton finished third individually with a time of 15 minutes, 9.51 seconds to lead the men. Not far behind Braxton was freshman Harrison Martingayle who finished sixth in the men’s race with a time of 15:28.21.
Senior Ashley Welborn was the first Lady Tiger to finish. She recorded a time of 18:20.44 to earn fourth place for the women’s team. Second for the women’s team was sophomore Hannah Bourque who finished in seventh place with a time of 18:30.82.
The Tigers finished 13 points behind Louisiana-Lafayette, the men’s winning team. The Lady Tigers only finished behind winning team Southern Mississippi and runner-up Tulane who scored 33 points and 50 points, respectively.
Head Coach Khadevis Robinson was pleased with the team effort from the men.
“The men ran tough, and really ran as a team,” Robinson said. “DC Lipani and Jack Wilkes both stepped up to help out Dajour and Harrison.”
Joining top-10 finishers Braxton and Martingayle was junior DC Lipani who earned ninth place, recording a time of 15:53.60. Right outside the top-10 was junior Christian Johnson who crossed with a time of 15:57.44 to earn 11th place. After Johnson was junior Jack Wilkes, freshman Alex Harp and junior Bryan Stamey who earned 16th, 17th and 18th place, respectively. Wilkes completed with a time of 16:16.94, and separated by slightly over a second was Harp and Stamey who finished with times of 16:21.30 and 16:22.40.
Junior Daniel Tanner finished in 24th place for the men with a time of 16:42.32. Tanner was followed by sophomore Jackson Fountain and freshman Josef Schuster. Fountain finished in 29th place with a time of 17:03.29, and Schuster crossed with a time of 17:10.99 to earn 33rd place.
Although finishing in third as a team, Robinson felt his women’s team left something on the table.
“The women could have done better,” Robinson said. “Ashley (Welborn) ran extremely well. We had some personal bests, but I know we can get more out of them.”
Behind the Lady Tigers’ leaders Welborn and Bourque, junior Rebecca Little, sophomores Erika Lewis and Hollie Parker and senior Jenna Walker were all top-20 finishers. Little finished in 13th with a time of 18:46.79, and Lewis was 14th with a time of 18:54.45. Parker crossed the finish at 19:14.99 to earn 17th place, and Walker received 19th place recording a time of 19:25.47. Junior Ellen Barkemeyer finished 21st with a time of 19:29.79.
The Lady Tigers’ finishers were followed by junior Hannah Deworth, freshman Kailyn McCarley, senior Danielle Avery and freshman Amelie Whitehurst who finished in 28th, 30th, 35th and 42nd place respectively. Deworth crossed with a time of 20:07.47, and McCarley finished in 20:08.98. Avery completed the race in 21:02.96, and Whitehurst finished with a time of 21:49.63.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers will continue action next weekend as both teams will travel to College Station, Texas to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 24. The men and women will both race at Watts XC Course.
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.
MEN’S RESULTS
Team Results
1.Louisiana-Lafayette, 32
2.LSU, 45
3.Tulane, 51
4.Southeastern Louisiana, 119
5.New Orleans, 126
6.Xavier-Louisiana, 203
7.Southern, 205
8.Millsaps, 216
9.Alcorn State, 221
LSU’s Individual Results
3.Dajour Braxton, 15:09.51
6.Harrison Martingayle, 15:28.21
9.DC Lipani, 15:53.60
11.Christian Johnson, 15:57.44
16.Jack Wilkes, 16:16.94
17.Alex Harp, 16:21.30
18.Bryan Stamey, 16:22.40
24.Daniel Tanner, 16:42.32
29.Jackson Fountain, 17:03.29
33.Josef Schuster, 17:10.99
WOMEN’S RESULTS
Team Results
1.Southern Mississippi, 33
2.Tulane, 50
3.LSU, 55
4.Louisiana-Lafayette, 101
5.Xavier-Louisiana, 163
6.Alcorn State, 179
7.Nicholls State, 201
8.New Orleans, 202
LSU’s Individual Results
4.Ashley Welborn, 18:20.44
7.Hannah Bourque, 18:30.82
13.Rebecca Little, 18:46.79
14.Erika Lewis, 18:54.45
18.Hollie Parker, 19:14.99
20.Jenna Walker, 19:25.47
22.Ellen Barkemeyer, 19:29.79
28.Hannah Deworth, 20:07.47
30.Kailyn McCarley, 20:08.98
35.Danielle Avery, 21:02.96
42.Amelie Whitehurst, 21:49.63