Locals qualify for state track and field championships

LAFAYETTE – The Crowley Gents went into the LHSAA Region II-4A track meet at UL’s Cajun Track with high expectations.
With 13 athletes competing in 12 events, those high hopes of competing for the Regional championship didn’t sound that far fetched.
But with a standout field of teams that included the likes of perennial powers Cecilia, Breaux Bridge and Northside just to name a few, the Gents’ hopes were dashed quickly.
In the end, the Gents scored just 42 points and had to settle for a fifth-place finish in the field of 18 teams.
“The field that we were up against was probably one of the best that we’ve seen in years,” said CHS coach Jeptha Wall. “If you just look at the quality in the triple jump, five people jumped over 46 feet and two of them didn’t get in (state meet); that’s phenomenal in itself. And in the sprints and relays, it was very, very tough.”
Cecilia won the meet on the last event, the 4x400-meter relay, running a 3:22.87 to finish with 81 points. Westgate was second with 77 points and Breaux Bridge was third with 54.
The Gents did, however, qualify six athletes for next week’s state meet at Bernie Moore Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Jacq’Co Price will be competing in two events after placing second in the 200-meter dash (22.15) and running a leg on the third-place 4x100-meter relay team (43.21) along with Ty’Von Griffin, Xavier Johnson and Mikal Hebert.
Damon Guidry advanced in the high jump with a second-place mark of 6-4. He will also be an alternate in the 300-hurdles after finishing fourth with a time of 41.96.
Darrid Romero will be making his first appearance at the state meet after placing third in the pole vault with a jump of 12-6.
“Darrid got in off of misses, but that’s how it is in vertical jumps,” said Wall. “He hit 12-6 on his first jump and that was the difference.”
This will be the sophomore’s first appearance at the state outdoor meet. He qualified for the state indoor meet “but he didn’t have a good day,” said Wall.
“Just the experience will be a great thing for him. The thing I like about him is that he goes out there and he’s not trying to place first; he’s out there every day to just do his best and he does a good job of focusing out the rest of the field and trying to do what he needs to do.”
Marshall Wilbert will be an alternate in the discus after placing fourth with a toss of 124-7. The 4x200-meter relay team of Terrell Thomas, Xavier Johnson, Tra Lewis and Price will also be alternates. They finished fourth (1:30.33) just behind district foe LaGrange (1:30.09).
On the girls’ side, Crowley’s Jalaysia Hebert will make a repeat trip to the state meet after finishing second in the 100-meter hurdles (16.42) behind champion Triston Mouton of Rayne, who ran a time of 15.84. Mouton also won the 300-hurdles in a time of 47.96.
Plaquemine won the girls’ regional with 87 points while St. Thomas More was second (82) and Northside was third (73).
LHSAA Region II-3A
ABBEVILLE – The Notre Dame Lady Pios and the Church Point Lady Bears combined to qualify seven athletes for next week’s state championship meet in Baton Rouge.
Erin Trahan had a big day for the Lady Pios, qualifying in two events. She won the 1600-meter run in a time of 5:36.54 before coming back later in the evening to place second in the 800-meter run (2:30.81).
Grace Morgan also claimed victory in the high jump with a leap of 5-1 while Abby Simon took runnerup honors in the javelin (113-8).
Church Point’s Lauren Sonnier will be competing in three events next week. She won the pole vault (10-0), placed second in the 300-hurdles (48.87) and ran a leg on the third-place 4x100 relay team (51.22) along with Daijaha Thomas, Ja’nessica Celestine and Bria Frank.
Notre Dame’s Hayden Bourgeois was the only local athlete to advance on the boys’ side with a winning throw of 189-6 in the javelin.
Region III-B
BELL CITY – The Midland Rebels and Lady Rebels combined to qualify 17 athletes for next week’s state track meet in Baton Rouge.
The Rebels will advance 11 athletes while the Lady Rebels will send six participants to Thursday’s Class B and C meet at Bernie Moore Stadium.
The Rebels, who finished third in the regional, logged one victory on the day. Devin Gautreaux claimed top honors in the high jump with a leap of 5-10.
Gabriel Hains earned runnerup honors in 3200-meter run with a time of 11:25.24 and Ty Breaux was second in the javelin (115-2 1/4).
The Rebels also qualified two of their three relay teams with a pair of third-place finishes.
Griffin Hains, Traven Guidry, Spencer Richard and Randy Primeaux teamed up to run a 48.66 in the 4x100 relay while Primeaux, Richard, Dylan Boudreaux and Gautreaux ran a 3:51.46 in the 4x4.
Primeaux was also third in the 200-meter dash (25.10), Dagan Patin was third in the 800 (2:16.06) and Boudreaux was third in the 1600 (4:55.93).
The Rebels added a trio of third-place finishes in the field.
Taatum Rubin was third in both the shot put (38-4) and the discus (104-11 1/4) while Tyler Bonnie was third in the triple jump (36-9).
The Lady Rebels won two of the three relay events and also took top honors in the long jump.
Hannah Credeur, Brooke Comeaux, Bethany LeJeune and Andrekia Allen won the 4x100 in a time of 54.79 while Credeur, Comeaux, LeJeune and Lexi Newman ran a winning time of 1:55.72 in the 4x200.
The 4x400 relay team of Comeaux, LeJeune, Credeur and Gillian Roy was third (4:46.66).
LeJeune also won the long jump (14-11) while Credeur and Allen logged third-place finishes in the 100-meter dash (14.06) and the 300-hurdles (56.62), respectively.