CLINTON, Miss. – The Southeastern Louisiana cross country teams built up momentum heading into the Southland Conference Championships as both squads took top-five finishes at the Mississippi College Choctaw Open on Saturday at the Choctaw Trails.

    The Lion men finished third with 125 points in the Division I race, coming in behind Louisiana-Lafayette (27) and ULM (64). The Lady Lions recorded 101 points, finishing behind Mississippi Valley (35), ULM (54) and Southern (100).

    "As a team, we did pretty well," Southeastern coach Rocky Capello said. "We had a lot of competition. There was close to 200 registered for the men's race. It was the biggest group we've run against this season, so it was a good experience for them to get – a bigger format with a lot of in-state competition. The guys ran well and if we can just get all five of our top guys running well on the same day, I think we will run really, really well at conference." 

    Junior Clarissa Smith was the top scoring runner and took second overall in the women's Division I 5K with a personal-best time of 18 minutes, 46.3 seconds. Louisiana-Lafayette's Courtney Musgrove finished in 18:20.6.

    Sophomore Allie Stone came in 20^th overall and 16^th in scoring in 20:57.30. Sophomore Amber Ferguson was 23^rd overall and 19^th in scoring in 21:16.0. Freshman Lill-Ann Hochkeppler, running in her first collegiate meet, finished 27^th overall and 23^rd in scoring 21:33.5. And freshman Sydney Bodie took 48^th overall, 42^nd in scoring, in 26:51.4.

    Freshman Grant O'Callaghan was the Lions' top finisher for the second straight meet, coming in at a season-best 27:18.35 for a 20^th-place time (18^th scoring) in the 8K. Senior Stephen Cassingham took 22^nd overall and 20^th in scoring in 27:22.67, while sophomore Sal Grizzaffi was 25^th overall (23^rd scoring) in a personal-best 27:35.30. Also scoring for Southeastern were sophomore Brett Olivier (34^th, 29^th, 28:24.34) and senior Alex Holden (41^st, 35^th, 28:50.15). Freshman Ben Vasterling (42^nd, 36^th, 28:55.84), sophomore Trevor Johnson (43^rd, 37^th, 29:00.92), sophomore Tahj Lewis (53^rd, 29:46.10) and freshman Bryant White (56^th, 30:26.71) completed the Lion lineup.

    Southeastern will compete in the Southland Championships, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 28, at Pine Acres City Park in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
Choctaw Open
Saturday
Men
Team Scores
Place   Team   Points
1. UL-Lafayette           27
2. ULM            64
3. Southeastern La.    125
4. New Orleans            136
5. Jackson State           157
6. Mississippi Valley    178
7. Northwestern St.      209
8. Southern      243
9. Alcorn St.    266
 
Top Finishers
Place   Name-School   Time
1. Stanley Limoh, ULL            25:10.4
2. Beau Robinson, ULL           25:10.43
3. Joshua Wilkins, NW St.       25.22.51
 
Southeastern Finishers
Place (Scoring)           Name   Time
20. (18) Grant O'Callaghan     27:18.35
22. (20) Stephen Cassingham  27:22.67
25. (23) Salvatore Grizzaffi     27:35.3
34. (29) Brett Olivier   28:24.34
41. (35) Alex Holden   28:50.15
42. (36) Ben Vasterling            28:55.84
43. (37) Trevor Johnson          29:00.92
53. Tajh Lewis 29:46.10
56. Bryant White         30:26.71
 
Women
Team Scores
Place   Team   Points
1. Mississippi Valley    35
2. ULM            54
3. Southern      100
4. Southeastern La.    101
5. Grambling    126
6. Northwestern St.      130
7. Jackson State           142
8. Tougaloo College     235
 
Top Finishers
Place   Name-School   Time
1. Courtney Musgrove, ULL    18:20.6
2. Clarissa Smith, Southeastern La.   18:46.3
3. Kemei Scolasticah, Mississippi Valley         18:51.9
 
Southeastern Finishers
Place (Scoring)           Name   Time
2. (1) Clarissa Smith    18:46.3
20. (16) Allie Stone     20:57.3
23. (19) Amber Ferguson         21:16.0
27. (23) Lill-Ann Hochkeppler            21:33.5
48. (42) Sydney Bodie 26:51.4