BATON ROUGE, La. – Both the men’s and women’s LSU cross country squads captured the team titles Friday in the LSU Invitational at the University Club in Baton Rouge.
LSU’s Jackson Martingayle won the men’s 6K race with a time of 18:09.00, and LSU’s Lorena Rangel finished first in the women’s 5K race with a time of 17:17.70.
The LSU men’s team accumulated 17 points for the first-place finish, followed by Nicholls (47), Southern (91), Alcorn State (117), Xavier (La.) (122) and Southeastern Louisiana (147).
The LSU women’s first-place total was 20 points, followed by Nicholls (67), Alcorn State (92), Southeastern Louisiana (114), Texas A&M-Texarkana (115), Southern (144) and Dillard (171).
Men’s Recap
The Tiger men lined up and began their 6K run at 8:15 a.m., quickly taking control of the race and setting the tone for the meet. LSU took first and second place, with veteran senior Jackson Martingayle leading the way with a time of 18:09.00 and Will Dart, a junior, just behind him at 18:31.40.
Despite the heat and humidity on the course, Martingayle was far ahead of the competition, blazing past the finish line 22 seconds ahead of the other runners.
“Around two miles into the race, I felt like it was time to increase the effort and push myself to get a better time,” said Martingayle. “When a gap started forming, I still felt like I could keep going faster.”
Freshman Dyllon Nimmers (18:38.50) had an impressive performance, taking fifth on the board in his first home race for the Tigers, followed by Jack Wallace (18:50.10) and Tyler Stevens (18:56.10) at seventh and eighth, respectively.
Women’s Recap
The women had an outstanding performance, taking home four of the top five times of the day and being the only team to have multiple runners break the 18 minute mark in the 5K.
Sophomore Lorena Rangel looked strong coming off the line and never let up, placing first with a time of 17:17.70.
Michaela Rose (17.27.10), Ella Chesnut (17:36.30) and Cindy Bourdier (17:58.70) secured the team win by finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
“They did a great job controlling the race from the front as a group,” said LSU cross country coach Houston Franks about the women’s performance. “They closed out the race really well and kept the pack together.”
Up Next
LSU will have two weeks to train before traveling to Tallahassee for the Florida State XC Open on Friday, October 7.
Full Results – LSU
LSU Women (5K)
Team – 1st, 20 points
1st – Lorena Rangel, 17:17.70
3rd – Michaela Rose, 17:27.10
4th – Ella Chesnut, 17:36.30
5th – Cindy Bourdier, 17:58.70
7th – Hannah Carroll, 18:06.40
9th – Gwyneth Hughes, 18:13.90
10th – Callie Hardy, 18:23.30
11th – Doria Martingayle, 18:26.70
12th – Sophie Martin, 18:35.80
16th – Shelby Spoor, 19:04.60
17th – Hailey Day, 19:10.00
19th – Adele Broussard, 19:34.20
20th – Shanya Luna, 19:41.40
27th – Maddie Kate Gardiner, 21:16.40
LSU Men (6K)
Team – 1st, 17 points
1st – Jackson Martingayle, 18:09.00
2nd – Will Dart, 18:31.40
5th – Dyllon Nimmers, 18:38.50
7th – Jack Wallace, 18:50.10
8th – Tyler Stevens, 18:56.10
10th – Hall Griffith, 19:05.10
11th – Thomas Daigle, 19:12.70
12th – Cade Martin, 19:32.70
13th – Evan Pardo, 19:34.70