The Nicholls cross country team competed in the Tiger Classic, which took place in Baton Rouge, Saturday morning. The men’s team finished fourth overall out of nine teams, while the women’s team finished in the top fifth overall. “This was a longer race than we have been running and they finished strong,” head coach Matt Pantusa said.

Sophomore runer Mikael Larson (27:05.36) finished in the top 20 runners as he led the Colonels, and Kevin Zwezdaryk finished close behind him with a time of 27:14.11.

“For one of the first times this season course was not extremely muddy, so having good traction helped,” Pantusa said.

Cassie Jones and Kim Prestenbach finished in the top 20 in the 6k race. The women’s team placed fifth against LSU, McNeese State, Tulane and Louisiana-Lafayette.

“I am proud of the way they (the cross country team) ran,” Pantusa said.

The men’s and women’s cross country team will next take to the trails of Hammond to take part in the Lion Invitational on Oct. 13.