LAKE CHARLES – McNeese Cowgirl freshman Holly Roberts and junior Daniel Saina started the 2019 season cross country season off in winning fashion as they both claimed the title in the women's and men's portion of the McNeese Cross Country Season Opener here Friday evening. 

Roberts, who clocked a 10:31.4 in the 3k race, helped guide the Cowgirls to a first-place team finish. Saina, who clocked a 18:14.0 in the 6k race, also lead the Cowboys to first-place, securing the McNeese Cross Country squad first overall in the total meet. 

Redshirt-Freshman Ciara Gilroy finished third overall and second among Cowgirl runners with a time of 10:32.4. She was followed by juniors Jessica Fox and Alissa Lander who placed ninth and 10th with a time of 10:58.3 and 11:04.0. Sophomores Marta Lukijaniuk and Sophie Grabner would round out the top 12 runners with 11th and 12th place posting times of 11:06.7 and 11:09.7. 

Other Cowgirl finishers saw Jaclyn Gonzalez at 26th with a time of 12:26.1; Priscilla Ibarra at 27th with a time of 12:58.2; and Rose Regan at 30th with a time of 13:19.3. 

The Cowgirls won the women's race with 34 points followed by LSU with 41 points, Southeastern Louisiana finished third with 52 points and Louisiana College last with a score of 120. 

The Cowboys dominated, only accruing 25 points on the day and were led by Saina's top team time of 18:14.0 to finish first overall in the 6k race. The Cowboys were followed b, LSU, Southeastern La. and Louisiana College in the team standings. 

Junior Henry Kiplagat and sophomore Miguel Barrera-Lopez assisted Saina in clenching the victory for McNeese as the duo secured third and fourth place finishes with times of 18:21.5 and 18:23.3 respectively. 

Brain Flanagan would finish next for McNeese with a time of 18:44.8 to place eighth, Joey Croft would come in with a time of 18:45.2 to secure ninth, and Aaron Gilliam placed 10th with a time of 18:49.0 to give the Cowboys six of the top 10 times. 

Other Cowboys to finish saw Damian O'Boyle in 12th place with a time of 19:06.1; Markus Kopp at 14th with a time of 19:13.5; William Devaney at 16th with a time of 19:45.8; and William Griffiths at 22nd with a time of 21:05.4. 

Both McNeese squads will return to competition on September 13 when they travel to Rice to compete in the Rice Invitational.