The successes and disappointments of the regular season will mean little for the LSU cross country team Saturday when it competes in the NCAA South Central Regional meet in Waco, Texas.
Regardless of prior finishes, every team competing in the regional meet has a chance to make it to the 2010 NCAA Championships, but teams must finish in the top two to fulfill the opportunity. LSU has never qualified for the championship meet as a team, but coach Mark Elliott expects the Tigers to take on the challenge.
“We’ll go there and try to compete hard as a team and finish out the season on a more positive note team-wise,” Elliott said.
Last year, the men’s team finished 18th at the regional meet while the Lady Tigers finished 21st. Arkansas took home the men’s title, and SMU led the way for the women.
Elliott said juniors Richard Chautin and Laura Carleton may contend for individual spots at the national meet. Both Chautin and Carleton have paced their respective teams in every meet this season.
Individuals can qualify by finishing in the top five of runners not on qualifying teams, which Elliott said would be a historical accomplishment for the two walk-ons.
No LSU walk-on has ever qualified for the NCAA championships, Elliott said, but scholarship runner Joseph Simuchimba did so for the Tigers in 2007. In 2008, walk-on Jacob Simmons finished just one place shy of qualifying.
“While we’re not known as a cross country power, we do pretty decent at the regional meet,” Elliott said.
LSU will try to bounce back from a disappointing finish at the Southeastern Conference Championship meet Nov. 1. The men’s team finished ninth and the women’s team placed 11th despite many of the runners recording personal bests.
Elliott said he expected the teams to place higher but felt his team just ran into stiffer competition.
 
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Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]