LAKE CHARLES, La. – Sophomore Erika Lewis and freshman Ruby Stauber combined for the win in the women’s 6k race while senior Ashley Welborn and sophomore Hannah Bourque were runners-up in leading the Lady Tigers to the women’s team title at the McNeese Cross Country Relays on Friday night.
The Tigers finished runners-up in the men’s dual-meet scoring as senior Blair Henderson and sophomore Dajour Braxton teamed for a second-place finish in the men’s 8k competition.
The Tigers competed in the 8k relays with four two-man teams completing 4k splits, while the women ran 6k relays with four two-person teams of their own running 3k splits.
LSU was one of four schools competing at the Enos Derbonne Sports Complex on Friday evening. Joining the Tigers and Lady Tigers were the men’s and women’s teams from McNeese State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Nicholls State.
Head Coach Khadevis Robinson was pleased with the way his team’s season commenced.
“This first meet was a good way to get the season started,” Robinson said. “The women started well, and if they can stick together as a team, I think we can be pretty good. Ruby (Stauber), Erika (Lewis), Ashley (Welborn) and Hannah (Bourque) ran very solid. Dajour (Braxton) and Harrison (Martingayle) ran well. We have to find a way to get everyone else committed to being a good men’s team.”
LSU’s women’s D team of Lewis and Stauber, who made her debut as a Lady Tiger, finished with a time of 20 minutes, 59 seconds to take home the women’s relay title with a first-place finish. Lewis has now been a member of the first-place pair at the McNeese Cross Country Relays for the second year in a row after teaming with former Lady Tiger and 2015 all-region runner Morgan Schuetz last fall.
Welborn and Bourque were paired together as LSU’s A team in the women’s division. They finished just behind their teammates with a time of 21:21 to earn second place.
The Lady Tiger duo of junior Ellen Barkemeyer and junior Rebecca Little finished in seventh place overall with a time of 22:19. Also, juniors Monica Guillot and Hannah Deworth placed 13th with a time of 24:42 in the women’s 6k competition.
The Lady Tigers finished a perfect 3-0 in dual-meet scoring on the women’s side to take home the coveted team title as their pairings outdistanced McNeese State (7-14), Nicholls State (6-15) and Louisiana-Lafayette (7-10).
The Tigers’ A team of Braxton and Henderson finished second in the men’s 8k race with a time of 25:53 earning them second-place. Freshman Harrison Martingayle and junior DC Lipani were LSU’s men’s B team. They finished in 26:26, earning them fifth place.
The Tiger’s C group of senior Christian Johnson and junior Jack Wilkes finished in 27:07, good enough for eighth place overall. The D group for the Tigers of junior Bryan Stamey and sophomore Jackson Fountain finished in 13th place with a time of 28:41.
The first-place men’s team, Louisiana-Lafayette’s A team, finished with a time of 25:22.
LSU’s men were 2-1 in the men’s dual-meet scoring on the night as they topped ULL (11-12) and Nicholls State (11-DNF) while also falling to McNeese State (11-10) in a narrow defeat.
The Tigers and Lady Tigers both return to action Sept. 9 as they travel to Houston to compete in the Rice Invitational. The meet will take place at the Rice Intramural Fields, and the women will kick off the meet at 6:15 p.m. CT with the men starting 6:45 p.m.
For the latest information on the LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams, fans can follow the Tigers and Lady tigers on Twitter at @LSUTrackField and on Facebook by liking LSU Track & Field.
TEAM RESULTS
Men’s Team Results (8k race)
1. ULL A 25:22
2. LSU A (Dajour Braxton, Blair Henderson) 25:53
3. McNeese B 26:01
4. McNeese A 26:20
5. LSU B (DC Lipani, Harrison Martingayle) 26:26
6. McNeese C 26:36
7. ULL C 26:45
8. LSU C (Christian Johnson, Jack Wilkes) 27:07
9. ULL D 27:38
10. ULL B 27:55
11. Unnat. B 28:03
12. NSU A 28:30
13. LSU D (Jackson Fountain, Bryan Stamey) 28:41
14. McNeese E 28:58
15. ULL E 29:11
16. McNeese D 29:52
17. Unnat. A 30:25
18. NSU B 34:24
19. NSU C Single Runner Finish
Women’s Team Results (6k race)
1. LSU D (Erika Lewis, Ruby Stauber) 20:59
2. LSU A (Hannah Bourque, Ashley Welborn) 21:21
3. ULLA 21:50
4. McNeese C 22:04
5. Unnatch 22:08
6. ULL B 22:13
7. LSU (Ellen Barkemeyer, Rebecca Little) 22:19
8. McNeese D 22:37
9. McNeese B 22:58
10. ULL C 23:17
11. McNeese A 23:47
12. Unnatch C 24:34
13. LSU (Hannah Deworth, Monica Guillot) 24:42
14. NSU 24:50
15. McNeese E 25:01
16. NSU Single Runner Finish
17. Unnatch 27:41
