The LSU men’s and women’s cross country teams travel to Starkville, Miss, today for the Southeastern Conference Championships.On the men’s side, the Tigers will face ranked teams No. 5 Alabama, No. 11 Auburn and No. 26 Arkansas. The ranked opponents the Lady Tigers will compete against are No. 13 Arkansas and No. 14 Florida. The men aim to use their No. 7 finish in the 10k race at the Chili Pepper Invitational to vie for a top spot against the top-ranked SEC teams. “The Chili Pepper prepared us for the big race,” said LSU coach Mark Elliott. “On the men’s side, the guys ran 10k for the first time.”Elliott also prepared his teams by having them race in the Pre-SEC Invitational in September. In that race, the teams ran the same course they will run today in the SEC Championships. The men finished No. 2 of the four teams that competed, and the Lady Tigers finished No. 4 of the four teams that ran on the women’s side. Elliott said the Pre-SEC Invitational race will help his teams know the course well and know where to make their moves within the race. The men enter the race after having a consistent showing all year with three different runners finishing in the top 10 in two races each, senior Jacob Simmons, sophomore Richard Chautin and junior Andy Florek. “I think Jake, Richard and Andy are the top three guys,” Elliott said. “They are ready to run.”Elliott expects a strong performance, not only from his top-three runners, but also from his team as a whole. “Bottom line is we are trying to go there and get one of the best results with the group we have,” Elliott said. “We’re shooting for top 5, and that’s what we’re doing on the men’s side.”The young Lady Tigers haven’t had as much success as the men’s team. Lone senior Christina Porter, who finished No. 12 at the Pre-SEC Invitational, has led the women this season.Behind Porter have been a number of freshmen runners, including Laura Carleton, Jenna Henssler and Amber Abbott. “On the women’s side . . . we’re not as strong a team as we were before,” Elliott said. “I just hope they go there and run their best time.”The men’s race starts at 9 a.m., and the women will follow at 10 a.m.
 
—-Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]