On Friday, Sept. 13, the Lions competed in the LSU Invitational at the LSU UREC Field Complex.

This season, the format of the cross-country meet was changed to relay instead of the traditional long-distance run. The teams consisted of two people who passed a bracelet as a baton at the end of the route.

The men ran the 2×4000 while the women ran the 2×3000.

Graduate student Euan Lagan and junior Landen Schillage were the Lions’ first runners, finishing sixth in the relay with a time of 25:24.03. Shortly after, sophomore Triston Watford and freshman Byrce Johnson crossed the line in 10th. Sophomores Manny Portillo and Joel Boerkey finished shortly behind.

Lagan said his biggest challenge of the race was finishing strong.

“I went second in the relay so I was kind of by myself. There was no one behind me and there was no one to catch up to, so I tried to stay relaxed and not use too much energy early and make sure to have something strong to finish,” Lagan said.

Junior Laney Wilkes and sophomore Ava Pitarro finished in 10th place with a time of 25 minutes and 24.03 seconds. Senior Anthonate Baarsai and freshman Isabella Latkovich finished 12th place, while freshmen Kayten Zaigler and Cayden Boudreax trailed just behind in 13th place.

Cross-country coach Alex Paille had low expectations during the meet and saw it as more of a warm-up to the season since it’s not the usual long-distance run. The expectations this season, he said, are focused on two of the best runners.

“Definitely one our biggest contributors on each side is Ava Pitarro for the women and Euan Lagan for the men. Ava Pitarro was our fastest runner throughout the track season and I think she’s going to have a big cross-country season this year,” Paille said. “Euan Lagan, for his senior year, is going to have a big season for us, and if we’re going to do what we hope to do for conference, he’s going to be a major player for us.”

The Lions traveled to Thibodaux on Sept. 28 for the Nicholls Invitational. 

Unlike the LSU invitational, the men raced the 4-mile course while the women ran the 5K.

For the Lady Lions, the first runner to finish was Piratrro who finished 18th with a time of 18:54.75. Boudreaux and junior Laney Wilkes finished shortly behind her. 

The Lady Lions placed 6th overall by the end of the race, as did the men.

Lagan was the fastest Lion, as he finished 21st and clocked in at 21:13.76. The next two runners behind him were Schillage and Johnson who finished close together. 

The Lions look forward to traveling to Mississippi for their next meet at 8 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Watson College Invitational, hosted by Mississippi College. For more information and coverage, tune in to The Lion’s Roar.