Southeastern cross country hosted and competed in the first-ever SLU Lion Up Invitational on Oct. 7. With a light showing, the men finished second as a team, with the Lady Lions coming out on top. 

The day began with the Lions’ 8K race, with an exceptional first-place finish from newcomer Euan Lagan, who posted a time of 25:37.3. Freshmen Tim Anstett, Triston Watford and sophomore Landon Schillage finished back to back, claiming eighth, ninth and tenth respectively. 

Sophomore Darian Chestnut crossing the line finalized the Green and Gold’s scoring. Due to an increasingly significant gap between Lagan and those behind him, the remaining runners lost their way on the new course, causing an error with the final times. 

“I felt I performed really well. I was battling a small bit of sickness leading up to the race, so to come away with the win on a tough and technical course was amazing,” Lagan said. 

For the Lady Lions, freshman Nikola Vimmerová shined in the women’s 5k, placing second overall individually. Freshman Ava Pitarro came through, producing her second straight week with a top-ten finish. Sophomore Anthonate Barsai and graduate students Shanique Masters and Jacqueline Thring rounded off the women’s competition. 

Earlier in the season, on Saturday Sept. 30, the Lions cross country squad endured a bright and early start as they took on the Nicholls Invitational. Hosted at the Nicholls Farm, the Lions finished in sixth place, while the Lady Lions did not register a team score as five runners must cross the line in order to earn a team ranking. 

The women’s 5k kicked off the day. Pitarro was the first runner to pull through the line with a time of 20:07.93. Pitarro was the only Lion of the day with a top-ten finish. 

Barsai and Masters placed 21st and 22nd, finishing back to back respectively. The day’s race concluded with Thring securing 29th with a time of 22:51.75. 

“I’m happy with our performance. I think we came out and did our best. I know we had a skeleton crew and not all our team is here and everybody is not 100 one hundred percent healthy, but I’m proud of us for coming out here and doing our best,” Pitarro said.

Following shortly after, the men’s side took on a four-mile course. Freshman Tim Anstett was the top Lion finisher on the day, crossing the line with a time of 22:52.04 in 23rd place. Coming in next on the team was sophomore Courtlin Baunchand at 23:08.31 and Watford at 23:35.53. The Lions rounded out the scoring with freshman Manny Portillo finishing 40th in 24:02.75 and Chestnut in 49th place. 

Assistant Track and Field Coach Alex Paille said, “It was a gutsy performance. We were short handed with a lot of runners in positions they normally wouldn’t be, so I’m proud that we had some people step up.”

The Lions will be traveling to Bryan-College Station, Texas, to compete in the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Friday, Oct. 13. For more information and coverage, tune in to The Lion’s Roar.