NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans cross country program will look to get its much anticipated 2021 season underway with the running of LSU's Cross Country Invitational at the University Club in Baton Rouge on Friday. The men's 6K race will start the day at 8:30 AM CT while the women's 5K event will follow right behind at 9:15 AM.
RACES (MEET INFO)
Men's 6K at 8:30 AM CT
(MAP) | Women's 5K at 9:15 AM CT
(MAP)
Attending fans will park at L'Auberge Casino (777 L'Auberge Avenue). There will be free shuttles running back and forth from parking to the course provided by LSU Athletics.
LIVE STATS
Live results from the
LSU Invitational for both the men's and women's races can be found here. Stats are provided by the LSU Athletic department and the meet's timing company.
LIVE COVERAGE
The best way to follow along with New Orleans Cross Country live in real-time is through
the team's twitter page at Twitter.com/PrivateersTFXC (@PrivateersTFXC). Updates will also be provided on the
team's Instagram account (@PrivateersTFXC) and on UNOPrivateers.com.
BATTLED TESTED
The New Orleans cross country squad was displaced in Birmingham, Ala. for over a week and returned to New Orleans this past Sunday evening, the first chance student-athletes had the opportunity to come back to Lakefront campus since Hurricane Ida impacted Southeast Louisiana. The dangerous storm and its aftermath canceled the New Orleans XC Opener that was set to take place at Lake Oaks Park on Sept. 3.
SCHOOL-RECORD REGIONAL RANKINGS
Both the New Orleans men's and women's cross country programs will enter the 2021 season with the highest regional marks received in school history as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its latest edition of the NCAA Division I Regional Rankings on Monday.
For the second straight poll, the Privateer men were slotted in a school-record seventh position while the women sat just outside the region's Top-15 teams, a likely product of being inactive so far this season.
This comes a week after the men were ranked seventh and the women slotted in at a program-best 11th in the Preseason Edition of the Regional Rankings (which was not promoted due to the impacts of Hurricane Ida).
In total the men have now appeared in just five regional rankings while the women have been selected three times for the honor in school history, with official data from the association dating back to the creation of the polls in 2010.
THREE FOR THREE?
Both the men's and women's cross programs are looking to set new school records for best finish and lowest point team point total scored since the Privateers joined the Southland Conference for the third consecutive year.
Last season the men finished fourth with 113 points, a six-spot and 93-point improvement from its previous program mark, while the women's group also came in fourth with 112 points to beat out its old Southland school record by seven spots and 162 points.
It was the best championship meet finish for the men's group since the Privateers placed fourth at the 2005 Sun Belt Championships and the best for the women's side since a fourth-place finish at the 2002 Sun Belt Championships.
COMPETING TEAMS
The LSU Invitational will host seven teams in total as squads from Alcorn State, Dillard, Loyola, LSU, New Orleans, UL-Lafayette and William Carey will be in attendance. The men's 6K race has 67 individual entries while the women's 5K has 69 registered student-athletes.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL
Keep up to date with everything New Orleans Cross Country and Track & Field. Follow
@PrivateersTFXC on Twitter,
@PrivateersTFXC on Instagram, like
/PrivateersTFXC on Facebook and subscribe to the
PrivateerAthletics YouTube channel.
