LSU has had its share of well known two-sport athletes through the years.But some of the less known athletes represent the majority of those who participate in multiple sports for the Tigers.The entire LSU cross country team — 34 athletes in all — is also listed on the spring track and field roster.While cross country and track require similar athletic ability, LSU cross country coach and assistant head track and field coach Mark Elliott said the two sports are like “night and day.””Track is a more individualized sport,” he said. “[Cross country] is more of a team sport where everyone competes at the same time.”The cross country season ended Nov. 14 at the NCAA South Central Regional in Waco, Texas. Elliott said official track workouts began Nov. 30. That’s a two-week layoff for the dual-sport athletes.Running is an activity that requires constant repetition to ensure the athlete does not lose a step in their progression.”Obviously, they were getting their conditioning done from running in [between those dates],” Elliott said.Several cross country runners spent some of their off time giving back to the Baton Rouge community.Sophomore Laura Carleton was one of seven cross country runners who gave a few hours of their time to read to kids at Delmont Elementary School.”I thought it would be a really great opportunity for us to take advantage of this week between cross country and track seasons to go and give back to the community when we would normally have to be at practice,” Carleton said in a news release. “The best part was how enthusiastic all the kids were to have us come to their classrooms. They all wanted a chance to talk to us and loved that we were from LSU.”Carleton led the Lady Tigers at the regional meet with a season-best 6K time of 23 minutes, 15.5 seconds.
The Lake Charles native competed in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs, in addition to serving as leadoff leg for the Lady Tigers’ 4×800-meter relay team in the 2009 outdoor season last year.Elliott said most of the cross country runners are best suited for long-distance events such as the 10K, 5K, 1,500-meters and steeplechase in track.”You can’t quite expect [sophomore] Cullen Doody to come and run with Trindon Holliday in the 100 [meters],” he said.Doody stepped up for the Tigers in the 2009 cross country season with their top three runners out for the year. He led LSU individually in every meet this season, including a season-best 8K time of 26 minutes, 52 seconds at the Crimson Classic on Sept. 18.Elliott said not all of the cross country runners will get an opportunity to compete and travel with the track and field team. Doody is one of several runners whose primary sport is cross country, he said.They are often the exception at LSU. Elliott said the NCAA does not mandate a cross country-specific scholarship.”Basically, we chose to field our cross country team with a majority of our track guys,” Elliott said.The 2010 indoor track and field season will begin Jan. 22 with the Purple Tiger Invitational in the Carl Maddox Field House.—-Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at [email protected]