Jesuit: Returning Boy's Teams Rankings No. 1

Sep 07, 2021

We're breaking down our MileSplit LA team's top 5 subjective rankings ahead of the cross country season on both the girl's and boy's sides! We'll release our full MileSplit LA Rankings after revealing the #1 teams and update them over the course of the cross country season.

No. 1 Jesuit

Louisiana 3 Mile Returning Rankings

Louisiana 5A Returning Rankings

Jesuit took home a definitive second-place trophy from the 2020 5A XC State Championships, a big step up from a 5th place finish back in 2019. The Blue Jays have been on a dramatic rise in talent in the past year, with monumental achievements during both the cross country and track season. Young runners such as Jack Desroches, and Lucas Sampedro, and Michael Vocke grabbed everyone's attention last year with their stellar performances, and those are just some of the more dominant performers for the Blue Jays. Jesuit tops our subjective rankings based on its returning talent, as well as its potential to carry over fitness from an impressive track season.

Sophomore Patrick Garvey completed his first year of cross country last year and concluded his season with a best of 17:12. He has shown to be a consistent runner and could prove to be a solid 7th runner.

Junior Sam Hunter concluded what could be considered his first true year of cross country competition with a performance of 17:05. Hunter had only competed in one meet prior to last year and he performed well during 2020 considering his lack of experience. He could turn out to be yet another competent runner for Jesuit this Fall.

Junior Patrick Dowd returns as the Blue Jays' 5th fastest returner after finishing 7th for his team at the state meet. He wrapped up his 2020 season with a 50th place finish at the state meet, as well as a personal best earlier in the season with a mark of 16:35. Dowd later went on to record personal bests in the 3200m with a time of 10:25 during the track season. Dowd looks to be a capable distance runner and could be a solid 5th man for Jesuit this year.

Sophomore Michael Vocke returns this fall Jesuit's second-fastest returner and 6th man at the state meet. He concluded his first true cross country season with a best of 15:43 and a 32nd place finish in the 5A field at the state meet. Vocke continued to shock the entire state during the track season with one of the best freshman performances in Louisiana history. With times such as 1:57 for the 800m, 4:17 for the 1600m, and 9:28 for the 3200m, Vocke could be in store for a stellar cross country season. For reference, no one has had that successful of a freshman year, since Eric Coston who holds the Louisiana state record for cross country.

Senior Morgan Hebert returns as Jesuit's 5th runner from the state meet with a strong finish at 24th place and a personal best of 15:56. He landed outside the top 20 by just a few seconds and could definitely improve upon that performance this year. During the track season, Herbert almost broke the 10-minute barrier for the 3200m with a time of 10:01 and also recorded a respectable best mark in the 1600m with a time of 4:37.

Sophomore Lucas Sampedro is yet another young talent for the Blue Jays'. He was overlooked during the track season due to his teammates' success, but Sampedro easily had one of the best freshman years in Louisiana history, on top of Michael Vocke. Sampedro completed his first year of cross country with a personal best of 15:50 and a 13th place finish at the state meet. He continued to put up fast times during the track season with a 3200m time of 9:52. Additionally, he competed at the 5A outdoor state meet in the 3200m and finished 7th.

Junior Jack DesRoches returns as Jesuit's top runner, as well as the most dominant returning runner in the two-mile. DesRoches called his 2020 cross country season to an end with a 4th place finish at the state meet, where he also claimed his personal best of 15:39. He is also the second-fastest returning runner in the 5A field, 3 seconds behind Catholic High's Daniel Sullivan. During the cross country season, DesRoches put up the second-fastest 3200m in the state with a time of 9:16c. It is easy to assume that long-distance is DesRoches's specialty, which could prove to his advantage this coming Fall.