COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The LSU cross country team completed Saturday\'s Southeastern Conference Championships at Fort Jackson\'s Hilton Field with the Tigers in seventh place and the Lady Tigers in 10th.
\"I think we did as well as we could have today,\" coach Mark Elliott said. \"It was a pretty good SEC meet for us as individuals even though we might not be where we want to be as a team.\"
The men\'s team finished with 199 points for the meet. Top-ranked Arkansas finished with 23 points to win its 32nd consecutive conference title. Alabama (73) and Florida (87) round out the top three.
For the women, LSU earned 288 points. Tennessee extended its streak of consecutive conference championships to three by edging out Arkansas by three points. The Lady Vols (48), Lady 'Backs (51) and Georgia Bulldogs (87) make up the top three women\'s meet finishers.
Senior Patrick Gavin led all Tigers competitors. His 26th-place finish of 24:12.64 was his best 8K time of the season and also his highest finishing place of the season.
\"Patrick Gavin ran extremely well today,\" Elliott commented \"If he can just get a few more things together he can be right there with those guys at the top.\"
Jacob Simmons (24:40.88) was the next LSU finisher in 40th place, followed by Sam Mwape (24:55.64) in 45th, Roland LeBlanc (25:02.89) in 53rd and Drew Haro (25:04.30) right behind in 54th. Six of the 10 men\'s participants notched season-bests.
Senior Michelle Hymel led the Lady Tigers in this meet. Her time of 21:38.58 earned her a No. 43 finish and marked a top-three 6K finish in LSU history.
\"Michelle leaving nursing school to come back and finish up running has been great for us, and she ran extremely well today,\" Elliott explained. \"Breaking 22 minutes on a 6K course, for those who understand time and distance, is extremely good. I think she should walk away proud of what she did.\"
All 10 competitors for the women finished with season-best 6K times. Kate Accardo placed in 58th with a time of 22:10.01 followed by Rachael Graham in 64th at 22:26.05. Megan Kliebert (22:33.29), Lindsay Day (22:43.46), Jennifer Radecker (22:47.17) and Jennifer Stark (22:54.17) round out the Lady Tigers scorers.
\"When you can have individually almost everyone leave with their best performance of the year, you can\'t ask for anything else,\" Elliot said. \"I would like to have finished better in the team results, of course, but I was very proud of the individual performances.\"
Both teams take a weekend off before returning to action in the South Central Regionals in Waco, Texas, on Nov. 12.
TEAM RESULTS
Men
1. Arkansas 23, 2. Alabama 73, 3. Florida 87, 4. Tennessee 93, 5. Auburn 156, 6. Georgia 158, 7. LSU 199, 8. Mississippi State 212, 9. Kentucky 226, 10. Ole Miss 297, 11. Vanderbilt 325
Women
1. Tennessee 48, 2. Arkansas 51, 3. Georgia 87, 4. Kentucky 116, 5. Florida 137, 6. Mississippi State 152, 7. Vanderbilt 161, 8. Alabama 190, 9. Auburn 241, 10. LSU 288, 11. South Carolina 311, 12. Ole Miss 359
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Winner plus all LSU competitors)
Men
1. Josphat Boit (Ark) 22:59.10, 26. Patrick Gavin (26:24.12), 40. Jacob Simmons (24:40.88), 45. Sam Mwape (24:55.64), 53. Roland LeBlanc (25:02.89), 54. Drew Haro (25:04.30), 58. Michael Hendry (25:17.40), 67. Matthew Guy (25:44.74), 82. Jancen Langlois (26:24.45), 85. Jim Presley (26:34.50), 86. Robby Stevens (26:43.80)
Women
1. Angela Homan (Auburn) 19:40.00, 43. Michelle Hymel (21:38.58), 58. Kate Accardo (22:10.01), 64. Rachael Graham (22:26.05), 71. Megan Kliebert (22:33.29), 74. Lindsay Day (22:43.46), 77. Jennifer Radecker (22:47.17), 80. Jennifer Stark (22:54.17), 83. Katie Dawson (23:06.83), 84. Christy Zirkle (23:08.77), 86. Megan Broussard (23:16.29).