Indoor track is well underway for the 2021 season. This week we have the second of three qualifying meets, the LSU High School Qualifier. There were some very good times posted at the LSU Classic opener meet, and the athletes will be excited to see if they can better those marks and qualify for the state meet in February. These are some of the events that highlight this weekend.
Girls Pole Vault
It is safe to say that both the girls' and boys' pole vault will be very exciting this weekend. On the Girls side, Texas A&M signee, Heather Abadie is tied for the top spot in the nation with her 13'9" jump at the Mac Vault Academy Winter Invitational. Abadie has finished on top of the podium the last nine times she has competed at the Karl Maddox Fieldhouse, including the LSU High School Classic on January 9th, where she cleared a height of 13'6.5". She will have to get close to that mark again if she wants to hold off hard-charging Johanna Duplantis. Duplantis joined the 13' club at the Mac Vault Academy meet and may continue to ride that momentum right towards Abadie. That 13' clearance puts Duplantis at 12th in the nation. Joining the two nationally ranked vaulters will be four other girls to watch; Aly Jo Warren, Emery Prentice, Alexis Gratia, and Laura DeGravelle. All four girls have already cleared 11'5.5" during the 2021 indoor season.
Boys Pole Vault
If the girls' pole vault is the number one event to watch this weekend, the boys' pole vault should be 1A. National leader, and Kansas Commit, Clayton Simms will look to rebound from his disappointing no height at the LSU Classic. Simms has already bounced back while in Texas at the Mac Vault Academy, by jumping a national lead 17'4.75". Joining Simms in the competition this weekend will Beau Dominigue, with a 16'2.5" indoor jump. Dominigue finished on top of the podium last time he competed at LSU, winning the Classic, and vaulting 16'. Trey Boucher, Hayes Thompson, and Aiden Devine have also all cleared at least 14'7.5" in the past and should add to an already exciting afternoon.
Boys 4x800m Relay
Catholic High Baton Rouge brought the heat at the LSU Classic by running the number five time in the nation to date. Even on the flat track at LSU, the Bears, led by senior Blaison Treuil, positioned themselves among the national leaders, running 8:18.55. They will return to the LSU Qualifier to try and take down the defending Louisiana state champs; Ruston High. LHSAA 5A Cross Country state champion, Dyllon Nimmers, and All-stater Caleb Babineaux will lead Ruston's quartet for the first time since the 2020 Indoor State Championships. If we get both teams' best, we should be in for some fireworks in the relay. Joining the Bears and Bearcats will be stiff competition from the third-place finishing team at the state meet in 2020, Mandeville, as well as a Westgate team primed to make a statement.