University of Louisiana head coach Timmy Lemaire named 2004 Sun Belt Conference Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Behind freshman Jake Simmons and senior Walter Whitfield, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns cross country team claimed their first conference championship in 30 years with a first place finish at the Sun Belt Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday.
Louisiana claimed the team championship, finishing with 58 points. South Alabama’s Tonny Okello won the individual overall championship with a time of 25:05.4.
Louisiana’s Sun Belt cross country championship is the first conference title since 1974, when the Cajuns claimed the Southland Conference championship.
Three Ragin’ Cajuns finished in the top 10, while six runners finished in the top 30 overall.
Simmons, a Houma, La. native, finished sixth overall, leading all Cajun runners with a time of 26:17.8. Whitfield, a Chauvin, La. native, finished seventh overall with a time of 26:19.1 Justin Lemaire rounded out the top 10 runners for UL Lafayette, finishing eighth overall with a time of 26:28.0
“Having a freshman finishing that high is really important,” Louisiana head coach Tim Lemaire said. “It builds confidence.”
Lemaire was named the 2004 Sun Belt Conference men’s cross country Coach of the Year.
“It’s a great feeling,” Lemaire said. “We did it with all local kids which makes it even more special.
“There were true Ragin’ Cajuns running out there for us. They worked hard all summer and came through to win it.”
Chad Campbell finished 17th overall with a time of 27:09.6, followed by Ryan Dupree in 20th place and D.J. Hebert in 27th place. Ben Schexnayder finished 49th overall for the Cajuns.
“Justin ran with a lot of intensity, while the other guys had a good consistent race,” Lemaire continued. “The guys ran together as a team.
“Walter and Jake have done an awesome job working together,” Lemaire continued. “We are losing Walter, Chad and Ryan, but we can reload easily behind Jake (Simmons), Justin (Lemaire) and D.J. (Hebert).”
On the women’s side, Western Kentucky won the team championship with 33 points. WKU’s Cara Nichols won the individual overall championship with a time of 18:34.8.
Freshman Jasmine Collins led the way for Louisiana, finishing 29th overall with a time of 20:38.5. Analise Zaunbrecher followed closely behind, finishing 33rd overall. Rayne, La. native and Notre Dame High product Casey Brown finished 38th overall with a time of 21:09.5. Jennifer Gautreaux finished 47th, while Laura Zaunbrecher finished 48th and Susan Boudreaux 49th. Leah Legere finished 50th overall and Stacey Enright finished 51st overall.
“We have been up and down all year on the Lady Cajun side,” Lemaire commented. “Arkansas State had a really good meet and ended up finishing one spot ahead of us.
“Although we finished eighth, we probably had the best team we’ve ever had here at UL. It’s unfortunate that we finished (eighth), but we have built a good foundation for next year.”
LOUISIANA SI