LSU Gold

Cross Country Sweeps Titles at LSU Invitational

by Aaron Hyder
Final Results +0
Cross Country Sweeps Titles at LSU Invitational

Baton Rouge, La. – Both the LSU women’s and men’s cross country teams kicked off their 2021 season with wins on Friday morning at University Club. The women won with a team score of 18, and the men tallied 21 points for their win; Katy-Ann McDonald also won the women’s individual title with a 5k time of 17:56.75.

Final Results

“I saw some good things today; it’s always good to get the first one in the books,” cross country head coach Houston Franks said. “I thought we executed pretty well and showed some toughness.

“That’s one of the things you look for early in the season. Conditions were hot and humid today, but I thought we competed really well this morning.”

Men’s Recap
The men got the action underway at 8:30 a.m. with a 6k race. Davis Bove (19:09.6) and Jackson Martingayle (19:12.6) were the top two finishers for LSU as they placed second and third, respectively. Those two finishes were the best of Bove’s and Martingayle’s cross country career.

Will Dart crossed the finish line in fifth place with a personal best 6k time of 19:31.6, and he was followed by Cade Martin who place seventh overall with a time of 19:42.3. Freshman Evan Pardo made his LSU debut with a scoring performance; he was the fifth LSU runner to cross the line for a 10th place finish with a time of 19:53.7.

LSU’s team score of 21 beat runner up New Orleans’ team score of 40 by 19 points.

Women’s Recap
Katy-Ann McDonald ran away from the field for the individual title with a 5k time of 17:57.7, almost a full minute clear of the rest of the field. It is the second career XC win for McDonald as she also won this event back in 2019. She averaged 3:35.4 for each kilometer she ran Friday.

The duo of Ashley LaJocies (18:55.5) and Gwyneth Hughes (18:59.40) both cracked 19 minutes as they worked towards a two-three finish together. It makes it three straight races that LaJocies has scored for LSU and it’s Hughes’ first career race scoring for the Tigers. The times for both LaJocies and Hughes were personal bests.

Alicia Stamey came through the finishing chute in a time of 19:13.8 to place fifth overall, and Shelby Spoor was LSU’s final scorer in seventh place with a personal best of 19:58.2. The newcomer trio of Sophie Martin (20:12.4/10th), Hailey Day (20:17.9/11th) and Callie Hardy (20:26.78/12th) finished just outside of LSU’s top five.

LSU’s team total of 18 was 30 points clear of the runner up position; New Orleans placed second with a score of 48 points.

Up Next
LSU will have two weeks of practice before they travel to Arkansas for the Chile Pepper Invitational on October 2 in Fayetteville.

Full Results
Women (5k)
Team – 1st, 18 points
1st – McDonald, 17:56.7
2nd – LaJocies, 18:55.53
3rd – Hughes, 18:59.40
5th – Stamey, 19:13.8
7th – Spoor, 19:58.23
10th – Martin, 20:12.4
11th – Day, 20:17.91
12th – Hardy, 20:26.78
13th – Luna, 20:40.4
15th – Broussard, 20:47.0
16th – Martingayle, 20:55.9

Men (6k)
Team – 1st, 21 points
2nd – Bove, 19:09.6
3rd – Martingayle, 19:12.6
5th – Dart, 19:31.6
7th – Martin, 19:42.3
10th – Pardo, 19:53.7
11th – Wise, 19:55.1
12th – Coston, 19:56.3
16th – Hamilton, 20:19.4
19th – Wallace, 20:32.3