HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana student-athletes will be among over 600 competitors at one of the season's largest cross country meets Saturday, the McNeese State Stampede. In addition to the men's and women's college events, the meet features high school, junior high and elementary racers, plus an open fun run.

 

Senior Henry Rop will be looking for his third consecutive individual victory. He broke away from the lead pack late and won the LSU Invitational by over 18 seconds on Sept. 25, covering the 8K distance in 25:40.49. One week prior, he won the Azalea City Classic in Mobile, Ala.

 

“Henry was amazing in Baton Rouge,” head coach Sean Brady said. “He's having the kind of senior year we had hoped he would have. To have a Southeastern athlete come out on top against people from the SEC and Conference USA was a big deal.”

 

In addition to Rop's performance, Southeastern saw an incredible effort from freshman Joseph LeGrange. The product of Baton Rouge's Redemptorist High School earned his first collegiate top ten finish, coming in eighth place at Highland Road Park, a course he saw regularly during his prep days.

 

“He's one of the most outstanding freshmen in the conference right now,” assistant coach Ryan Bourque said. “He's special. He gets better and better as the season goes.”

 

Several Lady Lions set personal records at LSU. Senior Naomi Jeruto was Southeastern's top finisher, completing the 6K event in 21:59.33, good for 15th place. Whitney Curry, Bethany Burst, Heather Fitzhenry and Lindsey Toups rounded out the top five for the Green and Gold.

 

The collegiate women's race will cover 5K and begin at 8:45 a.m. The men follow at 9:15 a.m. with a four-mile event. In addition to McNeese State, Southeastern will see opposition from LSU, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette, plus fellow Southland Conference members Central Arkansas, Northwestern State and UT Arlington.