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Hello again! It's time to break down and preview Division 2, or the small school division. This is a collection of classes C,B,1A, 2A, and 3A. Again, we haven't seen the final heat sheets, so we will preview based on current rankings in the state.
The girls pole vault looks to be a battle between Cameron Martinez (Jennings) and Karlyn Trahan (Kaplan). One the boys side, Cameron Aime (Maurepas), Nicholas Russell (Catholic NI), and Brock Meyer (Westlake) will go for the podium.
In the girls shot put, Bre Porter (Lafayette Christian) is the clear favorite, but Emily Nichols (Port Allen) could challenge. The boys shot put should go to Deandre Keller (St James) and it shouldn't be close.
The girls high jump could go to any of 8-10 girls. Right now Jordyn Garriet (Westlake) is the leader with a 5'2" jump. The boys high jump boasts a small field with Javion Canna (Mansfield) in the lead with 5'8".
The girls long jump Kayli Johnson (St Katharine) is the leader with Chalah Rock (St Thomas Aquinas) and Keonda Johnson (Westlake) right on her heels. Xavier Goodly (Westlake) is the clear favorite in the boys long jump, with a leap of 22'6".
The girls triple jump shapes up with the same three favorites from the long jump chasing leader Madyson Rideau (Lafayette Christian). The boys triple jump again features Xavier Goodly (Westlake) trying to beat out Kierston Stevenson (Hamilton Christian) and Chris Murphy (Port Allen).
The sprints shape up with some heavy favorites. I misspoke yesterday, placing Kiana Foster (Loranger) in Division 1 when she should be the favorite in Division 2. She will do battle with Alia Armstrong (St Katharine). The clear favorite in the boys 60m is Baylor signee Kam Jackson (West Feliciana).
In the 60m hurdles, Alia Armstrong (St Katharine) and Kennedy London (West Feliciana) are separated by 0.07 seconds on the girls side. For the boys, Jarred Joubert (Oberlin) and Obadiah Butler (Crowley) should do battle.
In the girls 400m, Ta'la Spates is the favorite with time of 57.35 seconds, while on the boys side, Kam Jackson (West Feliciana) is again the favorite with a 50.91 second mark.
The relay races could get interesting. Brusly is the favorite in the girls 4x200m with three other schools right there. On the boys side, West Feliciana, Northwest, and Lafayette Christian are all at 1:35, with Berwick and Episcopal right behind. The girls 4x400m should be all St Katharine and the clear favorite in the boys 4x400m is Episcopal. For the girls 4x800m, Sacred Heart should win but Episcopal could give them a run. As for the boys 4x800m, if anybody beats Episcopal it will be the upset of the century!
In the distance races, the girls 800m shapes up to be a good one. Freshman Breanna Becerra (St Thomas Aquinas) will do battle with veterans Mary Nusloch (Sacred Heart) and Adele Broussard (Episcopal) to see who reaches the top of the podium. Trevor Babcock (Episcopal) is the favorite in the boys 800m, but could see a challenge from Isaiah Rankins (Southern Lab), Tyler Clemmons (Christian Life), and Collins Walker (Cedar Creek). The 1600m is where we see the veterans and experience rise to the top. The girls 1600m is a battle between seniors Mary Nusloch (Sacred Heart) and Adele Broussard (Episcopal).
The boys boast a trio of runners who are sub 4:40 in Benjamin Bone (St Martins), Ben Beard (Holy Savior Menard), and James Christian (Episcopal). I have to give a shout out to two freshman who are running very well also in Chase Walker (Ascension Catholic) 4:47.88 and John Walker McDonald (Dunham) 4:52.25. In the girls 3200m, the clear favorite should be ULL signee Kelly Goff (West Feliciana). With a time of 12:21.29, she is nine seconds clear of the field. In the boys 3200m, Bucknell commit Samuel Kellum (St Martins) should be the clear favorite, but could get a push from Cyrus Cox (Holy Savior Menard) and James Christian (Episcopal).
The team competitions are shaping up to be a good one. On the girls side, St. Katharine looks to be the most complete team and is the favorite, but could see a challenge from a number of teams like St Thomas Aquinas, Brusly, Sacred Heart, West Feliciana, and Episcopal.
For the boys, Episcopal is the clear favorite due to their depth in distance and the relays, but West Feliciana could give them a run for their money with Westlake in the mix also. Good luck to all the teams this weekend and we look forward to seeing you at LSU this weekend. If you can't make it, please tune in to the live stream!