We return with the highlights of all the sprints from the LSU High School Qualifier. There were plenty of fast performances and more national rankings.
Starting off the day was the 60m dash. Ra'hji Dennis of Edna Karr impressed everyone by running the fastest time of the season and tying the meet record that was held by Kemondrick Walter of Ruston and Leon Elloie of Warren Easton. He ended up running a time of 6.86, which ranks him at US #16.
Marquez Stevenson (right) taking third in the 400m at the 5A Outdoor Track Championship
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Following up on Dennis was Marquez Stevenson of Captain Shreve who ran 6.97 and Darryl George of Scotlandville who ran 6.98. These two would have had the state lead if Ra'hji Dennis had not run.
In the girls' race, Ariane Linton tied her best mark from two weeks ago of 7.53. She still ranks at US #12 and continues to remain undefeated this season.
Coming in at a second of a second later is Demetria Harris of Huntington at 7.81. This was her season debut and she showed out by running the third-fastest time in the state. Jessica Pitcher of Baton Rouge High followed close behind Harris with her time of 7.83.
Looking to the 60m hurdles Demetria Harris and Jessica Pitcher finished identically in comparison to the 60m dash. These two took second and third place, respectively with Harris running 8.85. This mark places Harris at US #30. Pitcher finished third with her time of 9.18.
Makeriah Harris won the 60m hurdles with her stellar time of 8.79. She still stands as the US #12 mark in this event and remains undefeated in any event.
Broderick Davis (right) at the 2021 LSU High School Qualifier
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In the boys' 60m hurdles, Broderick Davis of Scotlandville had yet another impressive hurdle performance with a win and a new personal best of 8.20. This time ranks Davis at US #43.
Cody Smith of Zachary tied his personal best of 8.34 from two weeks ago and finished second and Louis Rudge of Catholic High followed up for third with his 8.36.
After Makeriah Harris won the 60m hurdles, she turned to the 400m and took home another win with a time of 57.75. Harris's mark from two weeks ago still stands as the best in the state, as well as a US #21.
Quincy Simon of Northside debuted her season with a second-place finish as well as a final time of 59.93. Behind her was London Parker of John Curtis who finished with a time of 1:00.12.
In the boys' 400m, Gabe Clement of Kaplan, who finished third two weeks ago, took the win this past weekend. He crossed the line at 50.71 which is a personal best regardless of indoor or outdoor track seasons.
Two other impressive sub-51 second times came from Joshua Anding of Ruston and King Taylor of John Curtis. These two battled head-to-head and drew up a tight finish, going 50.89 and 50.90, respectively.
Makeriah Harris (far right) at the AAU Junior Olympic Games
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Once again, the 4x200m did not disappoint. The Scotlandville girls took home another win with their time of 1:41.97. This time ranks the team at US #11. They were followed from a distance by Ruston who crossed the line at 1:44.77, which stands at US #39.
On the boys' side, Westgate brought home the gold with their relay that clocked at US #30 time of 1:31.67. Their team was behind Scotlandville just before the last handoff, but Westgate threw down an astonishing last leg of 21.59! Scotlandville was edged out of the win and finished just 0.02 seconds behind the Tigers with a final time of 1:31.69. This brings Scotlandville to the rank of US #31.
In the 4x400m, Westgate won the race but was disqualified. They finished in a time of 3:30.60, but in the end, it came down to a close finish between Scotlandville and Ruston. The Bearcats had the lead before the last handoff, but Scotlandville came back and won with a margin of victory of 0.21 seconds. Scotlandville's final time was marked at 3:31.83 and Ruston came second with a 3:32.04.
The girls' relay was not much different from two weeks ago. Scotlandville and Ruston both laid claim to the top two finishes once again. Scotlandville had a slow start, but they came back during the last leg of the event. They crossed the line in a time of 4:06.43 which stands as a US #47 and Ruston closed right behind them with their mark of 4:07.93 which is equivalent to US #56.
Make sure to keep up with the rest of the performances from the past weekend. Check out our previous article on the field performances to see more nationally ranked performances.