University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns To Compete in SBC Championships
10/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Cross Country
Cajuns To
Compete in SBC Championships
UL Men Looking to
Defend Title
Bowling Green, Ky. - The University of Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the A?ropostale Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday, at Western Kentucky. WKU will host this year's meet at Kereiakes Park.
Florida International was originally scheduled to host the SBC Championships, but due to Hurricane Wilma and the damage it has caused to the Miami area, Western Kentucky has stepped in and volunteered to host the event.
“This is another logistical problem caused by the unusual hurricane season,” said Head Coach Lance Veazey. “We have definitely been affected, but in comparison to the big picture, these problems are minor.”
The Ragin' Cajuns have only participated in three meets this season due to the natural disasters that have ravaged Louisiana and the Gulf Coast area. “It will be kind of tough to gauge where we are, but we are going to go out and compete to the best of our ability,” added Veazey.
The men's five-mile race begins Saturday, at 11 a.m., followed by the women's 5,000-meter competition, which will start at Noon.
The Ragin' Cajuns men are returning SBC champions and hope to defend the title they claimed in Little Rock, Ark., last season. “It will be interesting to see how the men perform, because the other teams will definitely be gunning for us on Saturday,” Veazey added.
Host WKU are the defending SBC Champions on the women's side. The UL women finished eighth last year at the SBC meet.
In their last meet at Northwestern State the Ragin' Cajuns women's team placed third with 82 points and 86 points earned the men's team a fourth place finish. In the women's 4k run, Jasmine Collins finished 10th, with a time of 16:25.6. In the men's 6k run, All-SBC performer Justin Lemaire placed sixth with a time of 20:11.5.
After the SBC Cross Country Championships, the Ragin' Cajuns will tune-up for their indoor track season, which will begin January 14, 2006, at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
