The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams will make the trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas, today to compete in the NCAA South Central Regional meet at Agri Park Cross
Country Course.
The women will begin at noon, and the men start at 1 p.m.
They are facing teams from neighboring schools including McNeese State, Rice and Southeastern Conference foe and cross country powerhouse
Arkansas.
“The talent [in the South Central Regional meet] is probably as tough as the SEC meet,” said cross country coach Khadevis Robinson. “We are going to have to go out there and compete.”
LSU fared well against McNeese State and Rice early in the season. The Tigers finished second in the McNeese Relay, and the Lady Tigers finished in first place. They performed well against Rice at the Rice Invitational, where the women placed third and the men came in fifth.
The stiff competition comes from Arkansas, which finished in first place in the men’s and women’s races at the SEC Championships. LSU finished in last place in both.
The Razorbacks’ squad boasts the SEC Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Runners of the Year, senior Stanley Kebenei and junior Dominique Scott.
History suggests that Arkansas is the favorite to win the regional meet because the men have won three of the last five, and the women have won three years in a row.
Arkansas has remained first in the South Central Region polls since the initial preseason poll, while LSU has been sporadically ranked in the top-15.
LSU most recently was ranked in the week four poll, when the Lady Tigers were No. 12 and the Tigers were No. 15.
Despite the results of the SEC Championships, Robinson said he believes his team can compete with Arkansas if it runs to the best of its ability.
“We have three guys that can finish in 25 minutes, but only one did it [at the SEC Championships],” Robinson said. “I think if [junior Morgan Schuetz] does what she’s supposed to do out there, she can run 30 seconds faster than Arkansas.”