Huntsville, Texas – The Southeastern men's cross country team continued to show improvement on Friday, moving up to 10th at the Southland Conference Championships held at the Country Campus Golf Course.
 
The Lions finished with 289 points, led by a 21st-place finish by senior Harry Wiggins. Lamar nipped Stephen F. Austin, 27-29, for its fourth straight conference title.
 
The Lady Lions also finished 10th with 304 points. Abilene Christian, led by individual champion Alexandria Hackett, captured its first conference crown while ending Lamar's three-year title run with 43 points. Stephen F. Austin was second with 52 and Lamar third with 84.
 
"I thought we ran well," Southeastern head coach Sean Brady said. "I was encouraged by our competitiveness. It wasn't a perfect race for us but we had some improvements over last season. We made some moves at the end of the race and passed some people and we ended up beating the Louisiana teams on both sides except for McNeese."
 
Wiggins crossed the finish line in 25:57.9. Junior Stephen Cassingham came in 63rd in 27:43.6, freshman Salvatore Grizzaffi was 72nd in 28:43.3, sophomore Michael Perez 75th in 28:53.9 and freshman Trevor Johnson right behind in 76th in 28:54.0. Senior Joseph Edwards finished 81st in 29:36.6 while freshman Salem Morelli was 88th in 30:15.7.
 
Sophomore Clarissa Smith was the top Lady Lion finisher, coming in 49th in 23:53.3. Sophomore Haley Gregoire was 62nd in 24:42, freshman Hannah Gregoire 69th in 25:23.2, freshman Amber Ferguson 72nd in 25:52 and junior Jenna Hildebrand 73rd in 25:54.3. Samantha Niemeck took 79th in 29:40.7.

Hackett won in 20:26.6, coming in ahead of Lamar's Jannika John (21:04.5).
 
The NCAA South Central Regional Championships will be held Nov. 13 in College Station, Texas.
 
SLC Championships
Final Results
Men
Team Results
1. Lamar          27
2. Stephen F. Austin   29
3. McNeese State        79
4. Central Arkansas     129
5. Texas A&M-CC      147
6. Houston Baptist      177
7. Sam Houston St.     198
8. Incarnate Word       227
9. Abilene Christian    250
10. Southeastern La.   289
11. Northwestern St.   291
12. New Orleans         318
 
Individuals (Southeastern runners only)
21. Harry Wiggins, 25:57.9
63. Stephen Cassingham, 27:43.6
72. Salvatore Grizzaffi, 28:24.3
75. Michael Perez, 28:53.9
76. Trevor Johnson, 28:54.0
81. Joseph Edwards, 29:36.6
88. Salem Morelli, 30:15.7                       
 
Women
Team Results
1. Abilene Christian    43
2. Stephen F. Austin   52
3. Lamar          84
4. Incarnate Word       114
5. McNeese State        130
6. Central Arkansas     150
7. Texas A&M-CC      181
8. Sam Houston St.     194
9. Houston Baptist      202
10. Southeastern La.   304
11. Nicholls State        355
12. New Orleans         355
 
Individuals (Southeastern runners only)
49. Clarissa Smith, 23:53.3
62. Haley Gregoire, 24:42.0
69. Hannah Gregoire, 25:23.2
72. Amber Ferguson, 25:52.0
73. Jenna Hildebrand, 25:54.3
79. Samantha Niemeck, 29:40.7