Jesuit Win Loaded Southern Showcase In Huntsville

Southern Showcase Photos

Southern Showcase Race Video & Interview

Jesuit boys finally were able to have their season debut at the Southern Showcase in Huntsville, Alabama on Saturday.  The meet hosted teams ranging from Tennessee down to Florida and Louisiana with many of the top South/Southeast programs and individuals in attendance.

Jesuit were set to debut last weekend at the Episcopal Round Table Run, but that was delayed a week due to Hurricane Ida's effect on New Orleans.  

Despite adversity derailing the beginning of their season and certainly affecting the summer training the team had logged together, Jesuit was able to impress winning the Southern Showcase Championship race with 111 points.  They were led by duo Michael Vocke and Jack DesRoches finishing 13th and 14th respectively in 15:22 and 15:24. 

While the two up front certainly helped win the team title, it was Jesuit's depth through 7 that really made them stand out last weekend.  Lucas Sampedro was their third man and was able to run 15:41 to finish 29th.  Sampredo's 3 Mile personal best was 15:50 last year, so being under that for a longer 5K distance is certainly a strong debut.  

Jesuit's fourth through seventh runners finished between 16:03 and 16:19 with Leland Crawford and Robert Buisson finishing as their fourth and fifth in 56th and 60th place overall.  Jesuit's 7th was able to finish right in front of Satellite (FL) fifth man, who finished in 2nd in the team score with 174 points.

Jesuit has no seniors in the top 7 who races in the Championship race.  They solidified what everyone thought about them in the state of Louisiana as they'll look to be the favorite to dethrone Catholic as LHSAA 5A State Champions come season's end.  But this also thrust Jesuit into national relevancy as well.  It'll move them to a US#8 Ranking using raw 5K times on the season and the second-ranked team in the southern region behind Grapevine (TX).  

With all Jesuit has had to deal with early in the season, it's incredible to see this debut from them at a major meet.  They should only be onwards and upwards from here and we can't wait to follow their journey over the rest of the season.

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