The LSU cross country team will begin its season at Vanderbilt’s Commodore Classic on Saturday while eyeing the Southeastern Conference meet in October, which will also be held at Vanderbilt.

LSU coach Mark Elliott said no one on his team has ever run the Vanderbilt course, which is why they decided to open the season there.

“Our ultimate goal for the season is to run well at the conference meet,” Elliott said. “That is why a big part of this weekend is getting to know the course and figuring out what we need to work on to have success there.”

On the men’s side, senior Roger Cooke is the Tiger’s top returning runner from last season. Cooke is the lone senior on an inexperienced men’s squad that will send one junior, five sophomores and three freshmen to this weekend’s meet.

“I kind of feel like an elder to these guys, somebody they can look up to,” Cooke said. “I just want to be the best role model possible.”

Cooke finished No. 83 at last season’s NCAA regional meet. His top performances from 2011 were tenth place finishes at the Bulldog Invitational and the LSU invitational.

Elliott said the team needs Cooke to step into a leadership role this season. He said Cooke has done a good job so far this fall.

“The juniors and seniors always play a role in helping prepare the freshmen and sophomore[s] for what is to come,” Elliott said. “So far Roger has played that role very well and hopefully he leads by example with his performance this weekend.”

On the women’s side, the team is led into the opening weekend by senior Laura Carleton. She was the team’s most successful runner in the 2010 season before redshirting in 2011 to focus on running indoor and outdoor track.

In 2010, Carleton paced the Lady Tigers in five out of six meets and posted three top-10 finishes for the season.

“I am really excited about this season,” Carleton said. “This is my senior season and fifth year on the team, and I think after sitting out last season, I think I have a deeper appreciation for it.”

The Lady Tigers go into this weekend with a much more experienced team than the men. Aside from Carleton, the women’s lineup includes two other seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and one freshman.

“We have a pretty solid tenured group of girls this season, and I think everybody is going in running better than they have before,” Carleton said.