NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The LSU men's and women's cross country teams posted solid performances while opening their 2012 season this Saturday at Vanderbilt's Commodore Classic held at Percy Warner Park.
The men finished 19th out of 25 teams and were led by senior runner Roger Cooke, who posted a time of 26 minutes, 15.64 seconds in the 8,000-meter race.
"The men ran well," said LSU head Coach Mark Elliott. "We had a couple of guys that ran really well. Roger Cooke was our first guy to finish. Philip Dempsey ran well and Brian Mutell ran a really good race.
"In terms of where we saw the men's team finish, we should have been better. Overall we were not pleased team wise on how the men did, but there were some bright spots in there."
On the women's side, senior Laura Carleton was the fifth overall runner to finish. Her time of 21:14.53 propelled the Lady Tigers to a team finish of ninth place out of 25 teams.
Other top finishers for the Lady Tigers include Dakota Goodman in 42nd place at 22:35.70, Brea Goodmanin 48th place at 22:43.19 and Leigh-Ann Naccari in 62nd place at 22:55.19.
"The women ran great," said Elliott. "Laura Carleton was fifth overall; she was our first runner to finish. Laura is basically just a confident student-athlete. She does great academically and is one of the top distance runners right now in the conference. It just goes to show hard work does pay off."
The Tigers and Lady Tigers return to action in Baton Rouge to host the LSU Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 22. The meet will take place at Highland Road Park. The women's race will begin at 8:05 a.m. CDT covering 6,000 meters and the men will race 8,000 meters beginning at 9:15 a.m.
Follow the LSU men's and women's cross country teams on Twitter @LSUTrackField and at www.Facebook.com/LSUtrackfield.
Team Results
Men (Top 10 and LSU)
1. Eastern Kentucky - 32
2. Miami (Ohio) - 83
3. Tennessee - 121
4. Georgia - 173
5. Miss. State - 183
6. Cincinnati - 184
7. Ole Miss - 237
8. Morehead State - 260
9. Marshall - 307
10. Memphis - 312
19. LSU -- 481
Women (Top 10)
1. Vanderbilt - 42
2. Ole Miss - 84
3. Eastern Kentucky - 108
4. Miss. State - 117
5. Alabama - 171
6. Georgia - 190
7. South Carolina - 205
8. Georgia State - 214
9. LSU - 235
10. Belmont -- 257
Individual Results
Men (Winner and LSU only)
1. Joseph Chebet (Western Kentucky) 24:36.15; 69. Roger Cooke 26:15.64; 104. Bryan Mutell 26:54.47; 118. Travis Pope 27:05.49; 128. Philip Dempsey 27:13.89; 129. Philip Primeaux 27:17.41; 154. Daniel Nally 28:25.13; 165. Aaron Koenck 28:56.52; 175. Zach Farque 29:11.39; 179. William Wiesler 29:58.62
Women (Winner and LSU only)
1. Katie Breathitt (Ole Miss) 21:03.23; 5. Laura Carleton 21:14.53; 42. Dakota Goodman 22:35.70; 48. Brea Goodman 22:43.19; 62. Leigh-Ann Naccari 22:59.19; 102. Laura Aleman 23:43.92; 116. Andria Aguilar23:59.92; 166. Morgan Schuetz 25:27.50; 194. Michelle Mobley 27:02.48