The LSU cross country teams had their best finishes of the season Saturday despite humid conditions and a relatively wet course at the LSU Invitational at Highland Road Park.The Tigers placed third out of 13 schools with a team score of 87, while the Lady Tigers took fourth out of a 16-team field with a score of 94. Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas schools participated in the meet.”This will be the hottest race of the year,” said sophomore Cullen Doody. “It definitely takes a toll on you.”Doody led the Tigers for the second consecutive week with a No. 16 finish in 27 minutes, 19 seconds on the 8K course.”I think overall it was a much better performance than last week,” said LSU coach Mark Elliott. “They are progressing well.”University of Houston swept both races of the LSU Invitational. The Cougar men posted a score of 29 with their top four runners all finishing in the top 10 overall. The women finished with 40 points.Sophomore Jenna Henssler was the first to cross the finish line for the Lady Tigers at No. 13 with a 5K time of 19 minutes, 58 seconds.”The times were a little slow for everyone as a whole,” said Henssler, who was 45 seconds quicker last week. “The hills take a little out of you, but I’m used to it because we practice here.”Henssler took on the role of top runner for the Lady Tigers as senior Katie Hamel, who paced the Lady Tigers last weekend with a No. 21 finish at the Crimson Classic two weekends ago, was held out Saturday with an illness.Elliott said losing Hamel is comparable to a football team losing its quarterback.Hamel wasn’t the only runner LSU went without Saturday. Redshirt Tigers Andy Florek and Richard Chautin both competed in the meet but only as unattached runners. Chautin and Florek finished sixth and seventh overall, respectively.”Our two front runners aren’t there like we normally have,” Elliott said. “That’s part of [cross country]. They are redshirting and will come back next year. And we will have a better team next year.”Other top-25 finishers for the Tigers were junior Kyle Hecker (No. 21, 27 minutes, 45 seconds) and freshman Kyle Steele (No. 23, 27 minutes, 50 seconds).Junior Tim Landry and sophomore Frank Bohn rounded out the Tigers’ top five at No. 26 and No. 29, respectively.On the women’s side, freshman Charlene Lipsey (20 minutes, 0.69 seconds) crossed the finish line right behind Henssler at No. 14. Also in the top 25 were sophomores Laura Carleton at No. 22 and Amber Abbott at No. 24.The Tigers and Lady Tigers will take a three-week break in action before they travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Chili Pepper Invitational.——Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at [email protected]