Defending home turf: LSU men, women cross country teams sweep own invitational

PHOTO BY: LSU athletics.

Both the men’s and women’s LSU cross country squads captured the team titles Friday in the LSU Invitational at the University Club.

LSU’s Jackson Martingayle won the men’s 6K race with a time of 18:09.00, and LSU’s Lorena Rangel finished first in the women’s 5K race with a time of 17:17.70.

The LSU men’s team accumulated 17 points for the first-place finish, followed by Nicholls (47), Southern (91), Alcorn State (117), Xavier (La.) (122) and Southeastern Louisiana (147).

The LSU women’s first-place total was 20 points, followed by Nicholls (67), Alcorn State (92), Southeastern Louisiana (114), Texas A&M-Texarkana (115), Southern (144) and Dillard (171).

Men’s Recap

LSU’s men quickly took control of its race and had the top two spots in the race go to senior Jackson Martingayle (18 minutes, 9 seconds) and junior Will Dart (18:31.40.)

Despite the heat and humidity on the course, Martingayle was far ahead of the competition, blazing past the finish line 22 seconds ahead of the other runners.

“Around two miles into the race, I felt like it was time to increase the effort and push myself to get a better time,” said Martingayle. “When a gap started forming, I still felt like I could keep going faster.”

Freshman Dyllon Nimmers (18:38.50) placed fifth followed by Jack Wallace (18:50.10) and Tyler Stevens (18:56.10) at seventh and eighth, respectively.

Women’s Recap

The women had an outstanding performance, taking home four of the top five times and being the only team to have multiple runners break the 18-minute mark in the 5K.

Sophomore Lorena Rangel looked strong coming and placed first with a time of 17:17.70.

Michaela Rose (17.27.10), Ella Chesnut (17:36.30) and Cindy Bourdier (17:58.70) secured the team win by finishing third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

“They did a great job controlling the race from the front as a group,” LSU cross country coach Houston Franks said about the women’s performance. “They closed out the race really well and kept the pack together.”

Up Next

LSU will have two weeks to train before traveling to Tallahassee, Fla., for the Florida State XC Open on Friday, October 7.

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