Senior Eli Sisung heads down the final stretch of the LHSAA Cross Country Championships on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Sisung earned All State recognition for his Top Ten finish (photo courtesy Suzanne Kling).

Jesuit’s cross country team finished third at the LHSAA Division 1 state championships at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches on Tuesday, Nov. 15, exceeding expectations but falling short in their bid for a third consecutive title.

Four seniors placed among the state’s top 30 runners for the Jays, who finished with a score of 123 points. As expected, St. Paul’s (Covington) took first place with 62 points, while Parkway (Shreveport) earned runner-up honors with 78 points. Brother Martin and Holy Cross, both of which knocked off Jesuit at the district championship, finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Jesuit’s 123 mark wasn’t too far off last year’s state championship winning tally of 106. The problem was that St. Paul’s was just that much better this year, cutting their score by more than half from 134 to 62. Parkway, meanwhile, caught a lot of folks off guard with their strong second place performance.

Eli Sisung was first across the finish line for Jesuit, breaking the tape with a time of 16:14 for the three-mile course to finish tenth among all runners, earning All State honors in the process. He was followed by Reed Meric (16:18, 13th), John Kling (16:37, 25th), and Tanner Tresca (16:39, 27th). Junior Michael Williams was the last runner to factor into Jesuit’s team score, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:24 to finish 53rd overall. He was followed by junior Jordan Tufts (17:31, 60th) and senior Luke Malter (17:36, 62nd).

If seeing his squad’s streak end at two consecutive titles was a disappointment for Coach Rudy Horvath ’86, he wasn’t showing it. “Sure, I’d have liked to win it all again,” said Horvath. “But these guys gave it all they had and put together our best race this year as a team when it counted most. I really can’t ask for more than that.”