Track & Field: Freshman Tandem Paces Ragin/ Cajuns At McNeese Opener

Matt Sullivan, Associate Director of Athletics Communications

Cajuns edged by SLU in men’s field; Bruning leads women’s team

LAKE CHARLES – The freshman tandem of Key Alfred and Hannes Burger each posted top-10 performances in their collegiate debut and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s cross country team finished second overall at the McNeese Opener on Friday at the Enos Derbonne Sports Complex.
 
Jonathan Kimutai placed 12th overall (13:07.9) for Louisiana, ranked No. 14 in the USTFCCCA South Central Region, in the men’s 4-kilometer race while George Femmer clocked a time of 13:22.9 to finish 19th.
 
The Ragin’ Cajuns, who lost All-Sun Belt Conference runner Stanley Limoh to an ankle injury while in the lead pack heading into the final mile, were edged in the six-team field by Southeastern Louisiana with host McNeese State, LSU, Northwestern State and Southern following.
 
Alfred, who earned a pair of Class 4A state titles in cross country at nearby Carencro High, used a strong finish over the final stretch to earn a fifth-place finish (12:43.9) for Louisiana. Burger followed in sixth-place for the Ragin’ Cajuns after clocking a time of 12:45.6

"We had a bit of a tough race today, we had a really hard week of practice and were competing with heavy legs and our top runner (Stanley Limoh) got his ankle stepped on in the race and was unable to finish," head coach Lon Badeaux said. "We did have a couple of freshmen step up in their first collegiate race and get fifth and sixth, respectively, so that was encouraging.

"But in the end, it was just a bit too much to overcome. We will adjust some things moving forward and heal up a bit and we should be fine."
 
Running without sophomore Ally McCulley, Louisiana placed fifth in the women’s 3K race. Teresa Bruning finished 19th overall to lead Louisiana, covering the course in 11:11.3, with Hailey Hesterman, Alivia Johnson, Alexa Breaux, Kate Ferguson and Kaya Seaman rounding out the lineup.
 
Regionally-ranked programs LSU and McNeese finished first and second, respectively, in the women’s field, followed by SLU, Northwestern State, Louisiana and Southern.
 
"The women were missing one of our top runners to due illness," Badeaux said. "We are super young team on the women’s side, but they are working hard and looking to improve each week."
 
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