Led by three runners finishing among the top seven, the Louisiana women's cross country team made program history Friday, capturing its first Sun Belt Conference championship at the 2026 Sun Belt Cross Country Championships at Graham Creek Nature Preserve.
The Ragin' Cajuns, ranked No. 12 in the USTFCCCA South Central Region, finished with 46 points to claim the team title, pulling away from Southern Miss (81) and James Madison (86).
Isabelle Russell paced Louisiana with a third-place finish, crossing the line in 17:18.06. Ella Segura followed in fifth place at 17:33.18, while Angelle Dupuis finished seventh in 17:37.75 to give the Ragin' Cajuns three runners among the top seven.
Junior Brooke Berger added a 12th-place finish in her first SBC meet posting a time of 17:54.59, while Chloé Crowell rounded out Louisiana's scoring five with a 19th-place finish in 18:04.06.
All five scoring runners earned All-Sun Belt Conference recognition. Under the conference's awards format, the top seven finishers received first-team honors, places 8-14 earned second-team recognition and runners finishing 15th-21st were named third-team All-SBC.
Elizabeth Stamey finished 37th for Louisiana in 18:26.0, Elizabeth Rodrigue placed 58th in 19:07.21, and Cate Williamson crossed the finish line in 71st in 19:42.36.
The Louisiana men's team placed seventh with 181 points in the 8-kilometer race. App State claimed the men's team championship with 21 points, followed by Arkansas State (77) and Marshall (91).
Junior Matthew Maynard led the Ragin' Cajuns with a ninth-place finish, clocking 24:33.46. His performance earned him second-team All-Sun Belt recognition after earning third-team honors at the 2025 meet.
Peyton Bourgeois finished 38th for the Ragin’ Cajuns in 25:58.55, followed by Jackson Jarrett in 39th place at 26:02.32. Freshman Taylor Roller placed 50th in 26:42.02, while Mason Haley completed Louisiana's scoring five in 55th place at 26:58.87.
Rowan Silk (57th, 27:17.82), Kohl Feucht (58th, 27:19.42) and Reed Boudreaux (63rd, 27:43.63) rounded out the Louisiana contingent.
Louisiana will return to action on Friday, Nov. 13, when it travels to College Station, Texas for the NCAA South Central Regional meet at the Dale Watts Course.