After success in the season’s early meets, it appeared as if the LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams, comprised solely of walk-ons, might exceed expectations.
But the men’s 14th-place finish and the women’s 16th-place finish Nov. 13 at the NCAA South Central Regional meet meant the end for the Tigers’ season. LSU failed to qualify for nationals — something the Tigers have never done — but head coach Mark Elliott was realistic with the expectations of his team.
“When you just have walk-on kids, it’s pretty hard to expect every weekend for them to rise above what their expectations are,” Elliott said.
One walk-on though, junior Richard Chautin, stood out from the rest and paced the men’s team at every meet this year. Chautin finished 31st at the regional meet, the highest individual finish by a Tiger since Jacob Simmons in 2008.
“Last year, he ran pretty well for us in track, so what he’s doing now, I expect him to do,” Elliott said. “I would say it’s rare for you to get a walk-on to just come and be your No. 1 runner. And he’s running with the best of them, too.”
The season began on a high note for Chautin and the Tigers. Chautin took home the individual title at the Mississippi State Invitational on Sept. 18, where both the men’s and women’s teams finished second.
LSU’s early success continued the following week when they hosted the LSU Invitational. The men and women finished second and fourth, respectively, at their home meet.
Both teams added another second place finish at the McNeese Cowboy Stampede in Lake Charles on Oct. 9 before traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., for the team’s toughest meet of the season.
The University of Arkansas hosted some of the top teams in the country to their annual Chile Pepper Invitational on Oct. 16. The men and women finished 25th and 26th, respectively, improving slightly on their 25th and 27th place finishes from the year before.
LSU hoped to carry its momentum into the Southeastern Conference championship meet Nov. 1, but the Tigers experienced a bit of a letdown. LSU struggled to a ninth place finish on the men’s side and an 11th place finish for the women.
“As a team, we didn’t place as high as were hoping to do,” Elliott said. “When you go to a meet and all your kids run their best times, that just goes to show we just got beat by better teams.”
Most of the top finishers from this year’s team will be returning in 2011, which has Elliott optimistic for next season.
“We have good kids coming back,” Elliott said. “We have kids that ran this year that will be here next year and the year after that, so it’s good things to look forward to.”
 
—-
Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]