LAKE CHARLES - McNeese opened the 2026 cross country season with an impressive showing at the McNeese Season Opener on Friday evening.
 
Despite a one-hour delay to the start of the meet due to lightning in the area, McNeese went toe-to-toe with defending champion and preseason favorite Stephen F. Austin in both the men's and women's races.
 
The men's race had the most exciting finish when SFA's Lathan Lewter and McNeese's Gregory Martin sprinting neck-and-neck to the finish line in the final 50 yards with Lewter edging out the individual win by just over a second.
 
SFA topped the men's scoring with 25 points while the Cowboys finished second with 38. Lamar followed with 65 then Northwestern State at 119. Centenary, who entered three runners, did not finish the 5,000-meter race.
 
The Cowboys placed three runners in the top five, led by Martin's 14:35.94 time and blistering his previous PR in the distance by more than a minute. Newcomer Diarmuid Moloney finished fourth at 14:43.98 and Ryan McCarthy was fifth with a PR time of 14:50.81.
 
In the women's 3k race, McNeese's Uxue Castro-Martin led the way with a second-place finish and a PR time of 9:57.09. Rylee Kai Challenor finished third at 10:05.75, also a new personal record. Elsa Moore was the third Cowgirl to finish in the top 10 as she ran a PR time of 10:29.93 to place seventh.
 
The team rankings had SFA finish first with 32 points followed by McNeese with 40, Lamar with 48, and Northwestern State with 120.
 
SFA's Mercy Kipchumba won the women's individual title with a time of 9:39.99 while Lewter won the men's race with a 14:34.85 time.
 
Cowboy Results: 2, Gregory Martin 14:35.94; 4, Diarmuid Moloney 14:43.98; 5, Ryan McCarthy 14:50.81; 13, Ethan Gioko 15:18.83; 14, Carton Rotich 15:23.21; 15, Samuel Serrano Borrego 15:23.99; 18, Nathan Waller 15:34.59; 19, Ander Camacho-Rodriguez 15:39.35; 20, Sullivan Hanna 15:40.38; 24, Jack Kelley 15:51.05; 31, Owen Kirkland 16:42.14; 35, Colby Trahan 17:06.37; 41, Mathis Stanberry 18:28.88.
 
Cowgirl Results: 2, Uxue Castro-Martin 9:57.09; 3, Rylee Kai Challenor 10:05.75; 8, Elsa Moore 10:29.93; 12, Maria Murnana 10:48.34; 15, Edyn Hill 10:59.96; 16, Darcey Tullis 11:05.54; 17, Reese Jeane 11:10.55.