Veteran leadership can help a team reach its greatest potential during the course of a season.The LSU men’s cross country team lacked that experience before the 2009 season even started. Three runners — seniors Andy Florek and Alan Sticker, and junior Richard Chautin — redshirted for the Tigers, leaving only five upperclassmen on the active roster.”They are redshirting and will come back next year,” LSU cross country coach Mark Elliott said earlier this season. “And we will have a better team next year.”The 2009 Tigers struggled throughout the season without their top three runners. The men’s best finish, third place, came at the LSU Invitational.But when LSU competed against Southeastern Conference teams and other elite competition, it finished at the back of the pack.The Tigers finished last at the SEC Championships on Oct. 31 at Ole Miss and 18th out of 19 teams at the NCAA South Central Regional in Waco, Texas on Nov. 14.”The talent level that we have this year is just not up to par as it pertains to being competitive,” Elliott said after the regional meet.LSU sophomore Cullen Doody led the Tigers individually all season long. The Arabi native paced the men in each of the Tigers’ five meets on the year.”After losing our top three male runners, Cullen really stepped up and ran well this season,” Elliott said. “At the beginning of the season, I never thought he’d be the No. 1 guy, but I’m really proud of the way he finished the year.”Doody had a season-best 16th-place finish at the LSU Invitational where he clocked an 8K time of 27 minutes, 19.01 seconds.Junior Ken Ehrhardt said Doody helped set the pace for the other runners as well, who ran in bunches at the SEC Championships. Junior Kyle Hecker (75th), junior Sean Swanner (78th place), sophomore Kenneth Schiffman (79th), and Ehrhardt (80th) all finished within 21 seconds of each other.”Five or six guys running together in the back is not a good thing,” Elliott said. “Effort-wise they ran as best as they could.”The season began slowly with the first scheduled meet of the season at Texas A&M being rained out. The Tigers never got into a rhythm after that.”When you race a lot, it breaks up your training,” Doody said. “You can’t race every weekend. It takes a toll on your body.”The LSU women’s team struggled throughout the season as well. The Lady Tigers placed 11th at the SEC Championships and last at the NCAA South Central Regional.Just like the men, the women’s best finish came at the LSU Invitational. The Lady Tigers finished in fourth place.The Lady Tigers were inconsistent throughout the season as four different front runners paced the team at least once. Senior Katie Hamel, sophomore Jenna Henssler, freshman Charlene Lipsey and sophomore Laura Carleton all crossed the finish line first for the Lady Tigers this season.Lipsey led the Lady Tigers at both the Chile Pepper Invitational on Oct. 17 and at the SEC Championships, where she placed 63rd with a 6K time of 23 minutes, 38.38 seconds.”She works hard and has good endurance,” senior Kayann Thompson said of her teammate. “She’s very determined, and she is a good competitor.”Lipsey, whose main focus at LSU is track, missed the regional meet because of her track obligations. In high school Lipsey recorded the third-fastest 800-meter outdoor time in the nation — a personal best of 2 minutes, 5.83 seconds. But before she got to campus, Elliott asked her to be a dual-sport athlete and help the women’s cross country team.”My high school coach spoke to coach Elliott, and they both agreed it would be best if I ran cross country this year too,” Lipsey said.Elliott said Lipsey ran her best race of the year at the SEC Championships.”She can help the cross country team be more successful,” he said. “It’s part of her preparation in getting ready for the indoor and outdoor [track] season.”—-Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at  [email protected]