Harry Wiggins
The Lion’s Roar / Heather Jewell

The Lions and Lady Lions Cross Country team both ran in the Mississippi College Choctaw Open, with the teams finishing third and fifth, respectively. The Lions were led to third place by senior Harry Wiggins. Wiggins finished sixth in the 8K race, with a time of 26:11.52. 

Southeastern finished third in the competition behind Alabama-Huntsville and Mississippi College with 149 points and an average time of 27 minutes, 35.89 seconds. Alabama finished first with 33 points and an average time of 26 minutes, 12.01 seconds. Mississippi College finished second with 99 points and an average time of 27 minutes, 13.77 seconds. 

As for the Lady Lions, they also performed well in the Open. The Lady Lions were led by sophomore Clarissa Smith, who finished in the 5K race at second with a time of 19 minutes, 20.65 seconds. She was closely followed by teammate Haley Gregoire, who finished in sixth place with a time of 19:40.57. Both runners helped bring the Lady Lions to fifth place in the competition. For the women’s teams, Alabama-Huntsville placed first, Blue Mountain placed second, Mobile placed third and Mississippi College placed fourth. 

Assistant Coach Brandon Chapoton had high praise for the runners of both the Lions and Lady Lions.

“I saw the competitive fire that had been brewing during practices,” said Chapoton. “Both the men and women’s teams showed me we are moving in the right direction.  

Chapoton also expressed his love of competing in Clinton.  

“We love competing at Mississippi College because of their great course,” said Chapoton. “The Watson Cross-Country Course is only used for cross-country racing and they maintain it well. The teams get excited when it comes time for us to head up north to race because this is a top notch venue.”

However, the course was not the only thing worth mentioning. Chapoton also described the excellent atmosphere at the competition.  

“As always with the MC Choctaw Open, the atmosphere was good amongst the crowd and the teams,” said Chapoton. “Like I said earlier, the course is just great and all teams get excited about the opportunity to race on a course that has held many national championship meets.” 

Other Lady Lions who participated included freshman Hanna Gregoire in 44th, junior Jenna Hildebrand in 45th, freshman Amber Ferguson in 53rd and Samantha Niemeck in 94th. The other Lions runners were junior Stephen Cassingham in 21st, freshman Salvatore Grizzaffi in 39th, sophomore Michael Perez in 42nd, senior Joseph Edwards in 49th, freshman Trevor Johnson in 69th and freshman Salem Morelli in 86th. The Lions finished with a team time of 2:17:59.41.  

Both the Lions and Lady Lions will compete again at the Southland Conference Championship on October 30, in Huntsville, Texas. Visit lionsports.net for more information on cross country events to come.