RESULTS: MEN | WOMEN
CLINTON, Miss. – Southeastern Louisiana senior
Henry Rop picked up his third straight individual victory, leading the Lions to a team win at the Choctaw Open. The meet, hosted by Mississippi College, also saw the Southeastern women take second place.
Rop needed 19:39.24 to complete the four mile course, beating out Louisiana-Monroe's Moses Chelimo by less than three seconds. Rop also crossed the line first at the Azalea City Classic and LSU Invitational. He skipped the McNeese State Stampede.
The men's team edged Louisiana-Monroe for the triumph. Ole Miss, Nicholls and Jackson State made up the rest of the top five.
“The men had a great race,” assistant coach
Ryan Bourque said. “Those were the kind of performances we were hoping to see from our guys. From top to bottom, they're starting to gel together and be the kind of competitive group we envisioned.”
Senior
Naomi Jeruto led the Lady Lions again, this time with a ninth place effort. She covered 5K in 18:53.04. Senior
Whitney Curry was close behind, placing 13th, with a time of 19:16.63.
Ole Miss earned the women's team title, followed by Southeastern, Louisiana-Monroe, Jackson State and Alcorn State.
“Our women made some big strides,” Bourque said. “
Heather Fitzhenry (19:38.15) and
Lindsey Toups (19:49.84) set personal records. We're starting to see the results from our hard work and realize that we're a very good team.”
Saturday's performance gives Southeastern plenty of momentum heading into the Southland Conference Championships, which will be held on Oct. 28 in Beaumont, Texas.
