Ragin' Cajuns Cross Country Preview

LAFAYETTE – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns cross country team opened their second week of workouts as it prepares for its season opener scheduled for Sept. 2 at the McNeese State Cross Country Relay.

The Ragin' Cajuns, who finished fourth in the men's event at the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Championships, returns 10 runners, highlighted by All-SBC performers Beau Robinson and Matt Rice.

Also returning for Louisiana on the men's side are seniors Christian Bergeron, Scott Brewster, Jacob Chicola and Cole Stafford, juniors Dylan Heck and Bryce Robinson. Redshirt freshman John-Paul Bergeron and Regan Lemaire also return for the Ragin' Cajuns with German native Marvin Hebenbrock joining the program as a true freshman.

"We're obviously excited on the men's side, we have a very senior-laden team," sixth-year coach Lon Badeaux said. "With the addition of a couple of really talented freshmen, that will make an immediate impact and should be in our top five, we're real excited to the point where we think we could be one of the top teams in the conference this year."

Robinson, a two-time All-SBC athlete, posted three top-five finishes on the season for the Ragin' Cajuns and finished second overall at the SBC Championships. He earned first-place honors at the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational (25:13.0), was third overall at the McNeese State Cowboy Stampede (20:27.1) and led Louisiana at the South Central Regional meet with a time of 32:01.5 on the 10K course at Texas A&M.

Rice earned All-SBC honors for the third time in his career despite missing the majority of the season to an injury. The senior returned to form with a third-place finish at last year's Ragin' Cajuns Invitational before finishing 14th overall at last year's SBC Championships.

On the women's side, seniors Courtney Musgrove and Claire Hodges return to lead a squad that includes senior Kaylei Esfeller, juniors Courtney Broussard and Lindsay LaGarde, sophomore D'Sharee Collins and Hailey Hesterman and freshman Alexa Breaux.

"The women's side is a little different," Badeaux said. "Last year, we were a senior-laden team and we went through bunch of injuries.

"We do have a solid team with some good returners in Courtney and Claire, who were both very good in cross (country) last year. We added a freshman in Alexa (Breaux) who was a state champion in cross country last year. There's some talent on this year's team, we're just a little thinner in numbers and can't afford any injuries this year."

Musgrove paced the Ragin' Cajuns during the 2015 season, recording three top-15 finishes and finishing 17th overall at the Sun Belt Conference Championships.

Hodges, the 2013 LSWA co-Freshman of the Year, posted a pair of top-5 finishes last season for Louisiana, finishing third overall at the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational and fifth at the McNeese State Cowboy Stampede.

Louisiana will open the season with the McNeese Cross Country Relay in Lake Charles before competing in events at Rice (Sept. 9), LSU (Sept. 17), Arkansas (Oct. 1) and Alabama (Oct. 14).

The Sun Belt Conference Championships are scheduled for Oct. 30 in Troy, Ala., with the NCAA South Central Regional set for Nov. 11 in Fayetteville, Ark.

Players Mentioned

Christian Bergeron

John-Paul Bergeron

Alexa Breaux

Scott Brewster

Courtney Broussard

Jacob Chicola

D'Sharee Collins

Kaylei Esfeller

Marvin Hebenbrock

Dylan Heck

Hailey Hesterman

Claire Hodges

Lindsay LaGarde

Regan Lemaire

Courtney Musgrove

Matt Rice

Beau Robinson

Bryce Robinson

Cole Stafford

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