The Ragin’ Cajuns cross country team competed at the Sun Belt Conference Championships over Halloween weekend. Individual performances were highlighted by Haley Salsbury and Louden Boudreaux.
For the men, Boudreaux came in 41st with a time of 26:59. Samuel Avants came in 48th with a time of 27:35.3, not even a minute behind Boudreaux. Other placements included Peyton Chiasson (50th), Jacob Marcinkus (53rd) and Braden Scalisi (56th).
On the women’s side, Salsbury finished 44th with a time of 19:31.7. Abbey Marie Ratcliff followed close behind, finishing 49th with a time of 19:47.2. They were followed by Meredith Hebert (57th), Pierra Charles (67th) and Lauren Cantrelle (71st).
As a team, the Ragin’ Cajun men came in ninth place with a total of 248 points. The women came in 11th with a slightly higher number of points with 288. Arkansas State, the defending conference champions on the women’s side, claimed the team titles in both the 6k and 8k.
Earlier in the season, the same names could be seen a top the best finished for Louisiana. In the season-opening Rice Invitational meet, Ratcliff and Boudreaux set the standard. Ratcliff finished 35th with a time of 15:09.70, while Boudreaux finished 38th with a time of 20:33.90.
Behind Boudreaux was Chiasson finishing 46th with a time of 20:53.20. Ratcliff was trailed by Rosalie Michot, Cantrelle and Salsbury. As a team, the women earned sixth in the 4k, while the men placed ninth in the 6k.
The next meet to follow the Rice Invitational took place at LSU. Chiasson blew everyone at the water with a 23rd place result in the 6k. Marcinkus followed in 30th place, while Scalisi came in 31st. The men’s team came in fourth overall.
The women did not make an appearance on the final leaderboard, but still accomplished individual feats. Ratcliff finished 24th in the 5k, leading Louisiana women for the second consecutive meet. Cantrelle and Charles followed in 32nd and 33rd place respectively.
In the final meet of the season prior to the SBC Championships, the men placed 29th in the 8k race, while the women placed 31st in the 6k. Similar to the season-opening Rice Invitational the duo of Ratcliff and Boudreaux paced the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Ratcliff led the women with a 172nd placement and a time of 23:42.1. Salisbury, Hebert and Charles succeeded Ratcliff.
Boudreaux led the men with a 142nd placement and a time of 25:52.6. Avants, Marcinkus and Scalisi followed behind with 177th, 188th and 218th finishes for the men.
Strong performances throughout the season led to top 15 finishes for both squads in the SBC Championships. Consistency from Boudreaux, Salsbury and Ratcliff elevated the Louisiana team this season.