LSU’s senior leader Jacob Simmons earned a chance to compete in the NCAA Championships after leading the Tigers to a No.7 finish in the NCAA South Central Regional on Saturday. Simmons finished the race No. 16 in 31:26.3 and received All-Regional honors for the second straight year.”Jake Simmons ran the best race he ran all year,” said LSU coach Mark Elliott. “That’s the Jake Simmons that we hoped would have showed up at conference, but he showed up at regionals and ran an extremely good race.”Texas A&M won the regional, scoring 39 points. Arkansas (44), Lamar (74), Texas (112) and Rice (164) rounded out the top five. The Tigers’ 212 points were good enough for No. 7 in the 17-team race. “That’s the way to bounce back from a disappointing conference meet,” Elliott said. “As a team, outside of our tournament and the Chili Pepper, this is the best they have competed all year.”Junior Andy Florek followed Simmons, finishing No. 43 in 32:39.2. Sophomore Richard Chautin finished No. 47 in 32:49.2. Junior Alan Sticker (32:57.5) and freshman Cullen Doody (33:40.3) rounded out LSU’s top 5, finishing No. 53 and No. 73, respectively.The young Lady Tiger team finished with 436 points at No. 17 in the 17-team women’s race. Coming off an SEC championship victory, the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks captured the regional title with 51 points. Baylor and Rice tied for second with 61 points, and Southern Methodist University finished in fourth place with 103.Senior Christina Porter led the Lady Tigers for the fifth time this season, finishing No. 67 in 23:11.7. Freshmen Laura Carleton (23:39.5), Jenna Hensseler (25:07.0) and Amber Abbott (25:21.2) finished No. 81, No. 105 and No. 108, respectively. “I could have just ended the season after the conference meet, but they put in hard work just like everyone else. I wanted them to see where they are and what they have to look forward to and work for next year,” Elliott said. Simmons will compete in the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Monday, Nov. 24.
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Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]