Zach France and Petrona Layne both turned in Top 20 performances to lead the Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's cross country teams at the 2011 LSU Invitational at Highland Road Park in Baton Rouge Saturday morning.
France traversed the men's 8K course in 28:55.3 and finished 19th out 97 runners in the meet. The Slidell native picked up a Top 20 finish in event for the second straight season (19th, 28:11.03 in 2010).
Layne improved 35 spots from last season's finish in the LSU Invitational, finishing 19th (out of 76 runners) after clocking in at 24:20.9 in the women's 6K trek.
The Cajuns men finished 6th out of 14 participating schools with 179 points and a total time of 2:30:32.11. Miami (Ohio) took the men's title with 32 points and a total time of 2:17:45.90.
Out of the 10 women's teams that ran, Louisiana posted a fourth place finish with 128 points and a total time of 2:05:27.30. LSU took home top team honors on the women's side, totaling 19 points on the strength of having five of the top seven collegiate finishes.
"I thought our athletes ran surprisingly competitive on a really difficult course and after coming off a tough training week," head track and field/cross country coach Lon Badeaux said. "The times were slow because of the course, but we are really pleased with the placing results."
For the UL men, Adam Kendrick was the next best finisher as he crossed the finish line behind France with a scoring time of 29:22.3 that placed him 31st.
Three other Cajuns women joined Layne in the Top 30 as Lauren Broussard (28th, 25:05.0), Michon Meche (29th, 25:13.7) and April Colomb (30th, 25:15.5) finished in succession.
Individual winners were Matt Perri of Houston Baptist with a time of 26:59.9 for the men and Laura Carleton, who ran unattached, for the women at 21:04.4.
The Ragin' Cajuns are back in action Saturday, Oct. 1 at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede in Lake Charles. The meet is slated to begin at 8 a.m. at the Enos Derbonne Sports Complex.
RAGIN' CAJUNS MEN'S 8K RESULTS (97 total runners)
19) Zach France (28:55.3)
31) Adam Kendrick (29:22.3)
43) Patrick Spiller (30:29.4)
46) Kail Kidd (30:42.7)
49) Cody Tilley (31:02.4)
54) Jacob Delahoussaye (31:17.8)
59) Courtland Privat (31:51.7)
RAGIN' CAJUNS WOMEN'S 6K RESULTS (76 runners)
19) Petrona Layne (24:20.9)
28) Lauren Broussard (25:05.0)
29) Michon Meche (25:13.7)
30) April Colomb (25:15.5)
33) Jolee Bonneval (25:32.2)
48) Katie Kidd (26:55.9)
53) Hlfti Kahassy (27:11.1)
55) Genevieve Roy (27:18.1)
MEN'S 8K TEAM RESULTS
1) Miami (Ohio) 32
2) LSU 59
t3) Lousiana Running Company 79
t3) Houston Baptist 79
5) Louisiana Tech 102
6) Louisiana 179
7) SE Louisiana 205
8) Xavier-Louisiana 229
9) Mississippi College 232
10) Jackson State 278
11) Alcorn State 340
12) Southern-NO 361
13) New Orleans 363
14) Dillard 364
WOMEN'S 6K Team Results
1) LSU 19
2) Houston Baptist 42
3) SE Louisiana 81
t4) Louisiana 128
t4) Xavier-Louisiana 128
6) Mississippi College 161
7) Southern-NO 197
8) Southern 206
9) Jackson State 222
10) Alcorn State 242