Under a clear sky and blistering sun, senior Henry Rop took first place in the men’s 8K race of the LSU invitational with a time of 25 minutes, 40.49 seconds. Last year, Rop took second place in the 2009 invitational, running behind his teammate Kalphys Kemboi.

“It was really hot,” said Rop. “I wasn’t happy with my time. I was supposed to run something like a 24. This is my last invitational, and I don’t want to lose any meets. I want to win every one of them.”

Head coach Sean Brady was very impressed with Rop’s performance.

“We’re starting a tradition of number ones,” said Brady. “Henry was his usual great self, and I see that he is going to do some great things down the road.”

Assistant coach Ryan Bourque also commented on Rop’s performance.

“When we sat down and went over goals before the season, Henry didn’t want to talk about times,” said Bourque. “He just said that he wanted to win every meet. I told him that if he did that, I wouldn’t be concerned about times either.”

Southeastern freshman Joseph LeGrange, a product of Baton Rouge’s Redemptorist High School, finished eighth place, covering the distance in 27:21.30.

“Joseph isn’t afraid of anything,” said Bourque. “When I give him workouts he does them, and he’s not afraid to challenge juniors and seniors.”

The women’s 6K race recognized two Southeastern senior runners, accounting major Dorcas Kapkiai and nursing major Naomi Jeruto. Kapkiai ran unattached from Southeastern and finished third overall with a time of 21:14.08. She was unable to compete for the Lions due to the forming of a contract with NCAA.

Jeruto finished with a time of 21:59.33, earning her 15th place overall.

“It felt very competitive,” said Jeruto. “It was fast from beginning to end. I ran the best times I could, and I’m really improving.”

The invitational was held at Highland Road Park and featured other universities such as LSU, Tulane and McNeese. Southeastern’s men’s team took fourth place overall, and the women’s took sixth place.

“This was the first test at the distances we’ll run in the Southland Conference meet,” said Brady. “We’ll make some assessments and see where we need to go.”

Southeastern is to compete in the McNeese State Stampede on Saturday, Oct. 9.