Elementary education senior Jean Cassandra had not run a cross country meet for Loyola since last October when she suffered a stress fracture on the inside of her left leg.

In her return at the LSU Invitational Saturday, she placed 27th with a personal record time of 25:04.54. Loyola’s women cross country team placed seventh in the meet.

“My teammates have helped me out tremendously, especially during workouts because we push each other,” Cassandra said. “It’s nice to have other people who want to help you become a better runner, and we work off that.”

Two other Loyola runners finished in the top 40. Psychology junior Kim Kujanek placed 34th, completing the race in 25:15.86, and Sara Miles St. Clair, communications junior, placed 40th with a time of 25:42.58.

“She has impressed me with her focus and attitude,” cross country coach Al Seither said. “She had a great performance (last week). I’m counting on her when we get to regional championships.”

Cassandra said that after missing much of last season, she wanted to make the best of her last season at Loyola. With her finish Saturday, she is on her way to doing just that.

“I was very intimidated by the other runners who were mostly Division I NCAA

schools,” Cassandra said. “But I felt really good and pushed hard, although the day before I was very nervous.”

While the men’s cross country team did not place in the invitational, history sophomore Richard Bouckaert and Andrew Fell ran well. Bouckaert finished in 37th place with a time of 29:02.77 and Fell 60th with a time of 30:46.45.

The Wolfpack’s next race is scheduled for tomorrow at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn.

Chad Bower can be reached at [email protected].