With several skilled, dedicated and victory-oriented men and women, Nicholls Cross Country stands to make a big showing this season. The Ragin’ Cajun Cross Country Invite in Lafayette proved to be history in the making for the team.
Returning junior Charlotte Everhardt secure first place for Nicholls and made history in the fact the Nicholls cross country has never had a first place finish.
Other top 10 female runners returning were senior Eunice Jepkogei in seventh, freshman Kadi Whisnant in eighth and sophomore Marion Chebet finished in tenth.
Michaela Guidry saw two fourth place finishes and two third place finishes last season.
She showed improvement this season by placing second in the Ragin’ Cajun.
The men’s cross country team also did well at the Ragin’ Cajun Classic with true freshman Brandon Kotzur, the invite’s top male collegian, finish in second place with a time of 22:58.99.
Other true freshmen Brandon Loupe finished seventh and freshman Logan Milano secured the 15th spot in the tournament and Ivan Vazquez placed 28th with a time of 28:02.80.
The men’s cross country team only competed with four members due to injuries. Head Coach Scott Williamson commented on one of the members’ injuries.
“One of our runners, freshman Joseph Fryou, is suffering from Achilles tendon and if we let him continue to run it was going to set him back” Williamson said.
Williamson attributes the success of the team at the Ragin’ Cajun Invite to consistent training and dedication among all of the team members.
Freshman Brandon Kotzur showed promise after placing second in the ragin Cajun invite this year. He set the two-mile school record at Foster High School in Houston, Texas with a 9:56 finish as a senior. He was also named to all-district and all-region teams.
Finishing seventh in the Ragin’ Cajun Invite this year, Brandon Loupe was an all-region selection in the 3200m, named first team all-district cross country and second team all-district in track and field as a senior at Assumption High School.
Logan Milano secured a spot at 15th in the Ragin Cajun Invite this year. At East Ascension High School, he was named all-district during his senior year.
Ivan Vazquez wrapped up the Colonels appearance at the Ragin Cajun Invite the 28th spot. Vazquez was very sports oriented in his Angleton High School in Angleton, Texas. In addition to track, Vazquez played football and basketball.
Williamson feels very optimistic about this season for both the men and the women, “The Crimson Classic is going to be a tough meet and there will be a lot of ranked teams competing from Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama” Williamson said.
After the Crimson Classic, the Colonels are going to the LSU Cross Country Festival. ” I think we have a really good shot at being one of the top teams in the LSU Cross Country Festival,” Williamson said.
“Nicholls will compete in the Crimson Invitational on Sept. 14 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
