HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana men's cross country team set out to get its name out at the LSU Invitational on Saturday.

    Consider the mission accomplished.

    The Lions were ranked 14^th in the South Central Region in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I Regional Coaches' Rankings released on Monday, the first time the program has been ranked in the poll dating back to 2010.

    Southeastern moved into the poll after taking first at the LSU Invitational, its first win in a non-relay event since 2014. The Lions had three runners finish in the top five and five in the top 20 scoring places in edging out rival McNeese, 41-43. Freshman Adam Cortez took second for the second straight meet, finishing in 17:15.7. Freshman Anthony Cordero also had a second-straight top-10 finish, placing third in 17:16.3, while sophomore Grant O'Callaghan was fifth in 17:28.1. Junior Brett Olivier added an 11^th-place finish in 17:46.4, while sophomore Bryant White was 20^th in scoring and 21^st overall in 18:24.3.

    "The kids are excited to be recognized for all of their hard work this year," Southeastern head coach Rocky Capello said. "The season is still young and we haven't reached our preseason goals yet. If we continue to train smart and keep improving, I think we will have much more to celebrate in six weeks."

    Southeastern was one of four Southland Conference teams in the rankings. Lamar was sixth, McNeese 12^th and Stephen F. Austin 15^th. Arkansas remained No. 1 and was followed by Texas and UT Arlington.

    The USTFCCCA Regional Rankings are determined subjectively by a single member coach in each of the nine respective regions.

    Southeastern will be back in action Saturday at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas. The Aggies are ranked fourth in the region.