LSU cross country senior Drew Haro saved the best performance of his collegiate career for last. At the NCAA South Central Regional Championships on Saturday in Waco, Texas, Haro led the men’s team to a No. 13 finish. Haro finished the race with a personal best time of 31:29 and finished No. 29. His performance marks the fifth consecutive race in which he crossed the finish line first for the Tigers. Junior Michael Hendry crossed the finish line second for LSU with a No. 55 finish. Also scoring for the Tigers were freshman Brett Borne, senior Matthew Guy and freshman Michael Florek, placing No. 71, No. 88 and No. 92, respectively. The University of Arkansas advanced to the NCAA Championships, winning the men’s meet easily with a score of 24 points. Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi sophomore Shadrack Songok won the overall meet with a time of 29:40. Haro said he is pleased with the way he ran in his last season competing for LSU. “I would have liked to have placed higher in the regional meet,” he said. “I cannot complain with the way I trained and raced the whole year.” The LSU women’s team finished No. 11 thanks to junior Rachael Graham. Like Haro, Graham also finished No. 29 and posted a personal best time of 21:54. The race marks the fifth time in six races Graham crossed the finish line first for the Lady Tigers. Graham started the first mile of the race well, keeping up with the leaders. She said running with the top of the field proved to her just how good a runner she is. “Running in that group was like a revelation for me,” Graham said. “Because for a moment I realized where I was and told myself, ‘You can run with these girls.'” Graham said she lost focus, which cost her a place in the top 10. “I let the wind get the best of me,” she said. “For about 10 seconds I mentally lost focus, and that cost me time.” The other Lady Tiger to cross the finish line first in a race this season is junior Megan Broussard, who placed No. 62 on Saturday. Rounding out the scoring for the women’s team were juniors Erin Vandivort, Lindsay Day and Katie Dawson. With the No. 13 and No. 11 finishes, neither the men’s nor women’s team advanced to the NCAA Championships, but LSU cross country coach Mark Elliot said he is still pleased with the way his teams performed. “I think based on what we brought to the table we did all right today,” he said in a news release. “It was a deeper field than last year, and I think it went the best it could.” Graham said she is pleased with her junior season, but she is looking forward to doing better her senior year. “Each race I set a time goal that was progressively better than the previous one,” she said. “And for the most part I believe that I managed to accomplish them.” Haro said he is looking forward to seeing how much some of the younger runners progress next season. “There are a couple guys on our roster that were either injured or decided to sit out this season, so they are certainly expected to do well next year,” he said.
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