THIBODAUX, La. – The Nicholls State University men's and women's cross-country teams will host the 7th Annual Nicholls XC Invitational Presented by Walk-On's at Nicholls Farm on Saturday Sept. 27.
 
The annual event will begin with the community race at 7 a.m. followed by the women's university 5K at 8 am and the men's university 4 mile at 8:30 am. The event will feature three high school events with the Boys 5K at 9, followed by the girl's 5K at 9:30, and the mixed JV 3200M race at 10:15. There will be a $5 spectator fee.
 
The Red & Gray will be hosting a solid field that features Alcorn, Dillard, Jackson State, Loyola-New Orleans, Southern, Southeastern, and Xavier-Louisiana.
 
Nicholls cross country head coach Stefanie Slekis expressed her gratitude towards the sponsors that help with the event.  
 
"We are excited to host our 7th edition of the Nicholls XC Invitational and the second year of WalkOn's being our presenting sponsor. This event wouldn't be possible without continued support Scorpion Subsea, Louisiana's Cajun Bayou, Parish Party Rentals, and Rouses. We are thrilled to welcome Holiday Inn Express & suites as our awards sponsor and a premier donor and Kona Ice to give our participants the best experience possible and cool off our biggest cross-country fans," Slekis said.
 
Slekis mentioned some new elements within this year's event.
 
"Our continued partnership with Nicholls Biology is what makes this meet even possible, and we are excited to honor some of our Biology faculties other passion of preserving Cajun music with our first year of live music presented by Louisiana's Cajun Bayou! This will be our first-year charging spectators $5 with 20% of proceeds benefitting the Cajun Music Preservation," Slekis said.
 
Slekis spoke about her expectations for the team and how they have improved since the season started.
 
"In addition to this being a huge fundraiser for our teams we are excited and ready to roll in a great university competition with 5 NCAA Division I teams and an additional 4 university programs making the trip to the Nicholls Farm. Our teams have been progressing well in training together the past six weeks and we are excited to show that improvement on Saturday as we move closer to our championship race distances," Slekis stated.
 
Last time out both Red & Gray squads finished third in the LSU Invitational. Both units finished ahead of Southern and Southeastern. The men finished with 87 points and an average time of 13:37, while the women scored 84 points with an average time of 11:34.
 
Brady Sins led the men's charge as he placed 11th overall with a time of 13:02.5. He was followed up by William Nizzo (13:31.1) who placed 19th. Next, Mason Heffernan (13:44.1) crossed the finish line third for the Colonels and 24th overall while Michael Keller (13:53.4) and Noah Richard (13:56.4) played 28th and 29th respectively.
 
In the women's race, Isabelle Seijhouwer was the first Colonel to cross the finish line with a time of 11:05.1 to place 11th overall. She was followed by Kassidy Besson (11:23.5) who placed 17th overall. The trio of Payton Theriot (11:41.8), Gracie Daigle (11:46.6), and Ana Letran Cartes (11:56.6) also finished in under 12 minutes to place 25th, 26th, and 29th, respectively.