STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Against its most talented field of SEC competitors, the LSU men’s cross country team posted a 10th place finish, while the Lady Tigers finished 12th at the SEC Championship on Monday at Mississippi State Cross Country Course.
As a team, the Tigers finished with 257 points. The women tallied 341. The Alabama men’s team and the Arkansas women’s squad claimed the titles at the 2008 SEC Cross Country Championships.
“Overall the team didn’t finish as well I would like,” said cross country coach Mark Elliott.
LSU’s efforts were highlighted by sophomore Richard Chautin. Elliott was pleased with Chautin, who finished the 8K course in 25:17.26, that time notched him a 38th place finish. Alan Sticker was the only other Tiger to finish among the field’s top 50. He placed 44 overall with a time of 25:31.69.
Jacob Simmons (25:49.71), Andy Florek (26:02.63), Kenneth Schiffman (26:43.83), Tim Landry (27:10.58), Luke Dessauer (27:44.3) and Cullen Doody (27:54.85) all finished in the top-100.
“Two of our best runners had an off day,” said Elliott. “When your number one and number two guys have bad days the outcomes are usually not good. The men came into the race over confidant because of the results from the last race.”
For the women, lone senior Christina Porter once again led the Lady Tiger’s pack. She placed 51st overall, finishing the 6K course in 22:45.24, her fastest 6K time of the season. Porter also broke her time a year ago at the SEC’s.
Following Porter were Laura Carleton who placed 68th (23:16.11), Kayann Thompson 82nd (23:53.48), Jenna Henssler 91st (24:55.05), Amber Abbot 92nd (24:59.37) and Lauren Ybarzabal 95th (25:48.11).
“The women all year long have grown and strengthen in their performance, said Elliott. We have one senior and Christina (Porter) did an excellent job once again. “Individually I think the women ran well. We want to continue to strengthen for the next season.”
Up next, the Tigers and Lady Tigers take next weekend off to prepare for the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Nov. 15 in Waco, Texas.
TEAM RESULTS
Men
1. Alabama,32
2. Auburn, 62
3. Arkansas, 75
4. Florida, 107
5. Tennessee, 130
6. Mississippi State, 186
7. Kentucky, 192
8. Georgia, 227
9. Ole Miss, 245
10. LSU, 257
Women
1. Arkansas, 46
2. Florida, 53
3. Tennessee, 107
4. Georgia, 117
5. Auburn, 127
6. Kentucky, 134
7. Alabama, 170
8. Vanderbilt, 177
9. Mississippi State, 252
10. South Carolina, 262
11. Ole Miss, 333
12. LSU, 341
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (Winner plus all LSU competitors)
Men
1 Girma Mesecho, Auburn, 23:11.26. 38, Richard Chautin, 25:17.26. 44, Alan Sticker, 25:31.69. 57, Jacob Simmons, 25:49.71. 64, Andy Florek, 26:02.63. 80, Kenneth Schiffman, 26:43.83. 82, Kyle Hecker, 26:45.80. 84, Sean Swanner, 27:10.58. 90, Luke Dessauer, 27:44.33. 92, Cullen Doody, 27:54.85.
Women
1, Catherine White, Arkansas, 20:07.26. 51, Christina Porter, 22:45.24. 68, Laura Carleton, 26:16.11. 82, Kayann Thompson, 23:53.48. 91, Jenna Henssler, 24:55.05. 92, Amber Abbott, 24:59.37. 95, Lauren Ybarzabal, 25:48.11. 96, Jessica Deutsch, 25:56.81. 98, Kirsti Denton, 26:48.35.