LHSAA Boys State Meet Preview


Boys 3A

3A produces high levels of competitiveness as most of the top teams originate from the same district and region. These teams include Lake Charles College Prep, E.D. White, St. Louis High, and Iowa. Lake Charles, St. Louis, and Iowa all come from the same district, while E.D. White joins the slew of teams in the regional meet. Big match-ups coming up arise from E.D. White and St. Louis in distance and Lake Charles and Iowa in sprints and relays. 

Iowa's attempts to gain points arise from sprints, jumps, and relays. Crajaun Bennett shows the ability to help his team to gain points in both of the 100m and 200m, followed by Brycen Leblanc in the 400m. Ethan Fontenot has a chance to bring in some point for his team in the shot put, as he is ranked #3 in 3A. Gene Natali could bring in additional points in the javelin and is currently ranked #5 in 3A. Iowa's strongest factors are from their relays. They boast fast times from all of their relays, ranging from 4x100m to 4x800m.

St. Louis will most likely bring in the majority of their points from distance events. Ivan Appleton leads the team by having two of the top times in the 1600m and 3200m in 3A. His biggest competition arises from Braedon Methvin and Reece Shelby of E.D. White. Along with Appleton, Colby Trahan competes in the 800m to put up fast times against more of E.D. White's distance runners. Wesley Maze shows promise for St. Louis to score in the 100m and 200m. It will be difficult to make it out of the qualifiers in both of these events because of how competitive Region 2 is turning out to be. In the throws division, Spence Nixon is ranked #2 in 3A in the javelin. Rounding out St. Louis's best events are the relays. The team shows the greatest chance at scoring points in the 4x400m and 4x800m, with the potential to score quality points in the 4x200m.

E.D. White is another distance powerhouse that looks to make almost the entirety of their points from that very discipline. Braedon Methvin and Reece Shelby have both been stalwarts of E.D. White. Methvin and Shelby have qualified so far in the 800m, 1600m, and 3200m, and are currently ranked #1 and #2 in the 1600m. This could be a very strong 1-2 finish that could be seen in the 3200m as well at the state meet. St. Louis's Ivan Appleton stands in these two's way for team scoring, but there is no doubt you will see a podium finish out of these three. Chris Gravois will most likely be White's only hope to score in the individual sprints with his 400m effort. White's other hope to score points resides in the 4x800m. This squad could be in contention for a state title but should be weary from fatigue that could take place from Methvin and Shelby earlier in the day. 

Lake Charles Prep is competing with Iowa for the points from sprints and relays, but they have an advantage that comes from throws. Marcus Frances leads his team in the shot put and discus throw. He is currently ranked #2 and #3, in that order. In sprints, Lake Charles hosts Dillon Simon and Trevonte Citizen. Both of these athletes are good competitors in the 200m. Following Simon and Citizen, JaRell Joseph qualifies in the 400m and holds the #3 time in 3A. Looking to the hurdles, Thaddeus Campbell is ranked #1 in 3A for the 300m hurdles. Not only is Campbell highly ranked in the 300m hurdles, but the triple jump as well. He holds the second-best mark this season in 3A. Another strong point of Lake Charles's team is that it displays strength in the 4x100m, 4x200, and 4x400m. These will help accumulate points for the overall standing.