LAKE CHARLES – The Southeastern Louisiana men's and women's cross country teams opened their seasons at the McNeese State Distance Relay Friday night, and left coaches excited about progress made in the off-season. Student-athletes were paired into two-person teams for the 6K race.
On the men's side, Southeastern placed three duos in the top eight. The Lions' preeminent twosome of senior Reese Lee and senior Henry Rop took third place with a time of 17:28. Junior Jaron Ortego and freshman Joseph LeGrange finished in sixth at 18:11. Sophomore Scott Richardson and sophomore Jesse McDavitt earned an eighth place result, crossing the finish line in 18:56.
“Overall as a group, both our men and women were much improved,” head coach Sean Brady said. “Whether that shows at the end of the year, we'll see, but from the first meet, I see strong indicators that we'll be a better team.”
Brady and assistant coach Ryan Bourque noted their delight about the performances of Southeastern's freshmen. Rather than being overwhelmed in their first collegiate meet, they stepped up and responded to the situation.
“I feel like we showed some competitiveness,” Bourque said. “Plus, we ran as a team. The kids were very supportive of each other. I believe we're going to be very competitive in conference if they continue to work this way and we keep progressing.”
After taking next weekend off, the Lions and Lady Lions return to action on Sept. 18 at the Azalea City Classic, hosted by South Alabama.
WOMEN'S RESULTS (6K)
Alvy Carragher-Amy Guinn, McNeese State - 20:24
Emily Charlesworth- Jessica McCleod, Nicholls - 20:39
Kadi Whisnant- Lauren Jones, Nicholls - 20:45
Georgia Ball- Tinette Burger, McNeese - 20:53
Fionnuala Ross-Carly Thurman, McNeese - 21:20
Melanie Gilbert-Mary Newton, Southern - 23:00
Amber Crews-Maya Anderson, Southern - 25:32
Shaniece Pinkston-Meiah Tellison, Southern - 29:09
MEN'S RESULTS (6K)
Joshua Sawe-David Rooney, McNeese State - 16:41
Jarrett LeBlanc-Johnathan Koenck, McNeese State - 16:57
Brent Ewing-Kenny Pierce, McNeese State - 17:53
Edwin Koenck-Kevin Laughlin, McNeese State - 18:09
Kaseyh Keise-Blaine Gisclair, Nicholls - 18:30
Tyler Folse-Justin Babin, Nicholls - 19:35
Ben Edmondson-Simon Freeman, Southern - 20:10
Ross Bullooly-Joby Fryou, Nicholls - 20:47
Nic Benoit-Dylan Williams, Nicholls - 21:55
Leland McCree-Anthony Collins, Southern - 26:55
Cody Collins-Josh Albert, Southern - 27:05
