Every summer some of the best athletes the state has to offer participate in summer track and field competition. Some do it representing their schools at meets such as New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Some do it representing the state at meets such as Great Southwest. And then also some do it in competition for USATF and AAU summer track clubs. Here in Louisiana, especially the southern portion of the state, AAU track and field is very strong and competive and our top athletes go on to compete at the AAU Club National Championship or AAU Junior Olympics meets.
Ending today, the AAU Club National Championship (which is actually an international competition because it includes Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico) was held at the ESPN Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida. The level of competition and amount of competitors grows each year, and this year the athletes from Louisiana did a phenomenal job representing their clubs. Here is a list of some of the top 10 finishes for Louisiana. This is not exhaustive and if you know of any other Louisiana athletes who placed top 10, feel free to email me.
3000 Meters: (Name, Team, Age Group, Place, Mark)
Jade McGee, Louisiana Stars, 11G, 2nd Place, 13:44
Justin Unger, Southern Athletics, 11B, 9th Place, 12;28
Breeann Martin, Southern Athletics, 13G, 6th Place, 12:24
Zachary Barthel, Southern Athletics, 13B, 5th Place, 10:31
Brock Plaisance, Unattached, 14B, 7th Place, 11:00
Denton Young, Southern Athletics, 14B, 8th Place, 11:01
Brady Mitchell, Southern Athletics, 14B, 10th Place, 11:58
Dionysia Love, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 2nd Place, 12:17
Chelsea James, Speed Dynamics, 17-18G, 8th Place, 16:40
1500 Meters
Lanell Smith, Louisiana Stars, 9G, 5th Place, 6:17
Kameron Shaffer, Louisiana Elite, 9B, 5th Place, 5:45
Bryce Campell, Focus AthleticsB, 10, 7th Place, 5:36
Kollin Poche, Southeast Louisiana, 10B, 8th Place, 5:37
Zachary Barthel, Southern Athletics, 13B, 9th Place, 4:47
Jeanee Romero, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 6th Place, 5:17
Dionysia Love, Southern Athletics, 17-18G, 10th Place, 5:29
800 Meters
Tyrone Hayes, 747 TC, 9B, 8th Place, 2:45
Bryce Campell, Focus Athletics, 10B, 9th Place, 2:47
Kyler Perrault, Jaguar TC, 17-18B, 1st Place, 1:54
400 Meters
Trinitee Whitaker, Louisiana Elite, 8G, 3rd Place, 1:09.37
Mackenzie Jenkins, South BR, 11G, 4th Place, 1:02.17
200 Meters
Devin Bush, Louisiana Storm TC, 12B, 1st Place, 25.00
Raven Nunnery, 747 TC, 10G, 5th Place, 28.71
Trinitee Whitaker, Louisiana Elite, 8G, 1st Place, 30.33
100 Meters
Jerome Bazile, Speed Dynamics, 15-16B, 6th Place, 11.33
Taylor Shaw, South BR, 14G, 8th Place, 13.43
Aldrianna Dupree, South BR, 13G, 5th Place, 12.93
Devin Bush, Louisiana Storm, 12B, 1st Place, 12.67
Mackenzie Jenkins, South BR, 11G, 4th Place, 13.53
Alexia Barnes, 747 TC, 10G, 2nd Place, 14.31
Trinitee Whitaker, Louisiana Elite, 8G, 3rd Place, 15.29
4x100 Meters
Marrero Trojans, 15-16B, 3rd Place, 43.51
4x400 Meters
747 Track Club, 17-18G, 6th Place, 3:54
Sprint Medley Relay
Speed Dynamics, 17-18B, 7th Place, 3:40
4x800 Meters
Southern Athletics, 13B, 7th Place, 10:19
Shotput
Rick McClendon, Southern Athletics, 15-16B, 8th Place, 39-10
Mykhala Coleman, Press Park TC, 9G, 2nd Place, 23-00.5
Marvalyn Vernon, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18G, 4th Place, 34-03.5
Maguire Valure, Southeast Louisiana, 8B, 4th Place, 21-09
Kharma Creecy, St. Charles Striders, 8G, 3rd Place, 16-07
Javelin
Rachel Tabor, Southeast Louisiana, 13G, 1st Place, 85-05
Ethan Rodriguez, Southeast Louisiana, 15-16B, 2nd Place, 156-11
Samantha Zelden, Southeast Louisiana, 15016G, 1st Place, 128-01
Kameron Glasgow, Press Park TC, 10G, 3rd Place, 49-05
Mykhala Coleman, Press Park TC, 9G, 2nd Place, 47-05
Hannah Weiskopf, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18G, 4th Place, 76-09
Claiborne Eubanks, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18B, 2nd Place, 179-04
Spencer Dean, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18B, 3rd Place, 158-00
Discus
Jonathon Neal, Southeast Louisiana, 11B, 2nd Place, 68-06
Rachel Tabor, Southeast Louisiana, 13G, 4th Place, 80-00
110 Hurdles
Craig Rock, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18B, 3rd Place, 14.94
Willie Reed, Speed Dynamics, 17-18B, 9th Place, 15.41
400 Hurdles
Craig Rock, Southeast Louisiana, 17-18B, 3rd Place, 54.11
Mona'e Lewis, 747 Track Club, 17-18G, 9th Place, 1:06.60
Antonius Prader, Speed Dynamics, 17-18B, 10th Place, 58.10
60 Hurdles
Kylar Coleman, Press Park TC, 10G, 1st Place, 11.04
Jasyria Frazier, Press Park TC, 9G, 1st Place, 12.56
High Jump
Dante Thomas, Southeast Louisiana, 11B, 1st Place, 5-00
Willie Reed, Speed Dynamics, 17-18B, 1st Place, 6-8
Jada Queen, St. Charles Striders, 13G, 3rd Place, 4-6
Chalah Rock, Southeast Louisiana, 11G, 4th Place, 3-10
Long Jump
Willie Reed, Speed Dynamics, 17-18B, 1st Place, 23-10
Alexia Barnes, 747 TC, 10G, 2nd Place, 12-10
Bailey Despanie, Focus Athletics, 3rd Place, 14-01.25
Jala Lafluer, St. Charles Striders, 1st Place, 17-00.25
Dante Thomas, Southeast Louisiana, 3rd Place, 15-05.75
Diego Griffin, Speed Dynamics, 15-16B, 7th Place, 20-09.25
Triple Jump
Breanne Bias, Speed Dynamics, 17-18G, 8th Place, 35-11.75
Chaz Caiado is a coach at John Curtis Christian school in River Ridge and the head coach of Southern Athletics. You can email him at vpprotraining@gmail.com or visit his website at www.vpathletics.com