It has been a crazy first half of the season for Louisiana cross country. From California to Florida, LA athletes have run great times and raced wonderful competition to firmly root itself as a regional power. From what looked like a year of growing pains for distance teams across the state, instead we have found one of the deepest years in recent memory. Let’s take a look at what has happened.
Boys Individuals
The big three made their splash as expected. Devyn Keith kicked off his year with a 3 mile under 15 minutes, just days after winning a muddy, close 2 mile race against Conner Killian. Several weeks later, Zach Capello hammered out a 15:00 under the lights at the Woodbridge Classic in California, nearly catching Keith’s time. Then, the freshman phenom now turned super sophomore Eric Coston found himself the owner of two new PR’s to the sound of 15:05 for 3 miles and 15:30 for 5k. Through the first 3 weeks of the season we already saw more runners at 15:05 or better than all of last year. With the 5K times posted by all 3 in the past two weeks, expect them to handle out of state competition at any post-season meets very well.
But what about the heads up competition? In the only clash between the big three, Devyn Keith surged past Coston in the final mile of the Bayou Boogie to win by 50 meters. Aside from that, there hasn’t been another matchup between the three, and possibly could not happen this year. Capello isn’t racing Catholic High, and his team has run the small school division at Walker in the past while Keith and Coston will be in the large school division. After that, Capello and Keith will face off at the STA-Rollette Invite, but Coston is not scheduled to be there. Keith and Coston will have a final hurrah against each other on November 8th at the NOLA Metro Meet, though.
But is there more than just the big three? This past week Capello found enough competition out of the previously mentioned Connor Killian who almost beat Keith at his home meet. Killian defeated Capello by 7 seconds. After focusing on the longer events in track and breaking the 10 minute barrier in the spring, Killian set himself up for a great fall which is now paying dividends. There is also a runner from Parkway that goes by the name of Hayden Kingfisher who should be a part of the discussion. Having won the Calvary Baptist Invite by over 30 seconds, his time of 15:25 places him fourth in the state right now. He shouldn’t be slept on, as his 4:22 and 9:41 from the spring indicate great ability. Could the big three move on to become the big five by the end of the season? We shall have to wait.
Finally, a quick notation on the next few who could easily find themselves into the ranks of the elite in the state. We have 9:42 runner Chace Edwards who knocked off a 15:48 at the EHS Roundtable, but could be much close to the lower 15s come the Walker meet. In that race he was able to stave off Catholics top dog, Jeffery Kelley, who made a big entrance into the state scene last year as a sophomore. Kelley had a memorable XC season last year which included a win over Capello at the BR metro meet and a 6th place finish in the highly touted 5A State XC meet. Kelley has been MIA, though, for the last three weeks, possibly due to sickness or injury. You’ll also find another runner from both these schools, Hayden Courrege of BM and Pierce Hill of Catholic, who should be mentioned. Courrege is currently doing his best Eric Coston impression, having run faster than Coston’s opening race as a freshman. Could he be the next big thing? And Hill, whose genes say he could be great (brother of SJA’s Annie Hill), took his time under 16 at the Highland course this past weekend. Hill reeled off a pair of 4:25s last year during the spring. He’s got it in him.
Some names to keep an eye on include Spencer Hollander, Thomas Kelton, Ryan Burrell, and Bryant White.
Boys Teams
Prepare to be confused. John Curtis beat Catholic High and St. Pauls at Bayou Boogie. Jesuit beats Brother Martin, Catholic, and St. Pauls at EHS Rountable. Brother Martin beats St. Pauls at Christian Brothers Invite. Catholic High beats Brother Martin at Battlefield XC. St. Pauls beats Jesuit’s 5k average at the same meet (in a different race) by 25 seconds, and John Curtis’ two 5k averages from two other meets by over 30 and almost 45 seconds. Both Jesuit and John Curtis haven’t lost to an in-state team, but neither are ranked in the top 2 teams based on averages for the 3 mile. That would go to St. Paul’s and Brother Martin. Did you follow that?
All we know is that St. Paul’s ran lights out this weekend pushing way past the other teams based on time, but has lost to the other four teams head to head. Jesuit looks like they could be the true leader based on their very close team spread, and Curtis looks to be the odd man out soon with their spread reaching nearly two minutes. St. Pauls might have the most upside with at least 2 runners who could score low at any given LA meet and the rest of the pack within 40 seconds of their number 2. Catholic has unmatched depth though, and should that depth come together in 6 weeks, could be the difference maker. Brother Martin matches the talent through the first 5 with most of these teams, but look to have the weakest 6 and 7 runners of the group. At what meets will this matter? The NOLA Metro meet will feature 4 of these teams as will the 5A state championship. I don’t want to forget to mention Parkway as a contender in 5A as well, but we may have to wait to see how they stack up until they race on of these 5 programs. Their coach has proven himself in the past, though, so don’t be surprised if they are in the mix with one mile to go in Natchitoches.
Speaking of Natchitoches, the other team race that looks to be a good one to watch is the 2A race. EHS has won state going back to the invention of the lightbulb, but this year they have a close challenger in Newman. While EHS still looks to be able to run away with this meet due to nearly unmatched depth for a small school, Newman has been quietly putting together the tools to match them. The deciding factor will most likely be state meet race strategy and EHS traditionally is overly prepared to fight off the best efforts of their opponents.
Girls Individuals
There really isn’t a big three, or even two on the girls side, there is only one. Gabrielle Jennings has shown to be far and away the top athlete in the state, with only one girl within 25 seconds of her. Gabby ran a 17:22 last fall, one of only two girls returning to break 18, but the only one to break 17:50. Expect more of the same from in-state competition, although if she were to slip up in a race, there could be a girl or two close enough to track her down.
In what could have been the other two heads of a triumvirate, we will have to wait to see how much fitness Olivia Murphy can get back after a summer off from knee surgery, and we will also have to see if Annie Hill will be back to racing this weekend after suffering from “mono-like symptoms.” Both these girls are extremely talented, but missed time will be tough to make up with only a few weeks till the big regular season meets are finished.
Keep your eyes on Claire Crosby of Mandeville to be the state’s number two runner this fall with Kaitlin Tanner close behind. Both have potential to knock a good sub 18 out in the next few weeks. Claire did sit out this weekend at the SJA meet due to sore knees, so we will find out soon if she has bounced back.
Girls Teams
The girls team battles are far more interesting than the individuals, and carry a lot of drama leading up to the state meet. Starting with 5A (and additionally the top 2 teams in the state overall), the SJA vs Mandeville showdown seems to be a battle of “don’t get hurt” and steadily improving towards the date in Natchitoches. Both teams, when healthy, have similar feels with studs at the top, and 5th runners who would be the top dogs on most other teams. A slight lean to Mandeville may be the case with Olivia Murphy making her season debut after surgery with a 20-flat, and Crosby’s injury not sounding serious. Annie Hill returning soon could give us the best idea of where these two teams should be when fully healthy, but we can’t be sure of when that happens. SJA has better depth, though, in case Mandeville has to show up to the state meet missing anyone. It will be a close battle to watch, and barring any major meltdown, these two teams seem like the only two with the real chances at the podium.
The 4A meet could be a showdown between St. Thomas More and Vanderbilt Catholic, but with the absence of Alexa Breaux for unknown reasons, STM looks to be firmly planted at the top team. If Alexa can return and be in good form, perhaps this race will be closer.
The 2A state race is the one of the most entertaining race for fans to take notice of with a three headed monster emerging. Unless Newman can make up ground quick, your top three teams look to be STA, Menard, and EHS. There is star power on each team, but Menard seems to be the hungriest team having beaten STA soundly earlier in the year. STA had an outstanding meet at the MC Watson Ford 5k this past weekend and look primed to make a comeback. EHS has the best 1-2 punch of all the teams, but the depth just isn’t there this year. Although, if they can find that depth over the next 6 weeks, expect them to be firmly in the mix at state.
Lastly, and probably the most interesting meet for storylines, is the girls 3A state championship race. You’ve got five teams who are all currently separated by about 45 seconds but knowing the history of these teams, that means little at the state meet. If you go by straight PR’s, Sacred Heart is your 5th team heading into the second half of the season in 3A, but we all know that is silly. Some of their top girls are all racing junior high races, not the varsity 3 mile, therefore their actual team average should be easily in the mid 20s. They also have your most probable 3A individual champion in Megan Jackson who is on a roll this year for SH. Then you have Lusher, from the same district, who has found some major motivation and rocketed themselves to the top current team in 3A after finishing fourth at state last year. They have a very talent crew capable of racing with the other top girls teams, but there is a lot of youth and inexperience at the championship level, so time will tell if they can maintain their pace. Don’t forget about McGehee, another district rival, who is averaging only a few seconds behind Lusher and is helmed by a very capable runner as coach who can often put together some solid squads. McGehee was your runner up to Sacred Heart last year in the district championship, so these teams know each other well. The girls are familiar and will be anticipating each other all season. Lastly, you have the newest of the district rivals, but last years state runner-up, John Curtis. Curtis has some new faces on the team this year but has struggled to keep up with the other district foes, but so was the case last year as well. After finishing 4th at district, the Patriots found a way to finish two spots higher at the state meet. This team has always been great at late blooming, so keep an eye on them. And lastly in the 3A competition we have Univeristy High who, if they continue to improve, can make a splash and break up the district competition being revisited at the state meet if they can find the depth to match their top few runners.
Overview
This year has been a jewel for LA with so much talent and some great team storylines. The next 6 weeks will be very fun to watch, so keep posted and check back here often!