10 UNDERCLASSMEN TO WATCH: At Region 1-5A Boys' Meet!

SHREVE'S MARQUEZ STEVENSON LEADS THE GATOR 400 METER RELAY TO A DISTRICT 1-5A TITLE!

    Here are the top underclassmen to watch in the boys division of the Region I-5A Meet in Natchitoches on Wednesday.

No.1 - Captain Shreve's Marquez Stevenson (400m,100m)

    Region I-5A opponents are catching "Macho" at a bad time. He was disappointed that cramps prevented him from finishing the District 1-5A meet in Benton last Thursday. The cramps came on immediately after Stevenson won the District 1-5A title in the 400m (48.19) in a season best time. It was a season best for the Shreve junior, who ran 46.84 at the 2021 AAU Junior Olympics last July. 

    Marquez Stevenson also won the 100m (10.82) and ran the anchor leg on Captain Shreve's winning 400m relay (42.20).

     Look for Stevenson to take some frustration out on last week's disappointment as he works his way back to Baton Rouge to add another state championship to his resume'. His first state championship came two months ago at the 2022 LHSAA Division I State Indoor Meet

No. 2 - Ouachita's Chaunky Lewis (110h, 300h)


   After finishing fifth at the 2021 Region I Meet, this Lion is ready to roar in Natchitoches on Wednesday. He is the District 2-5A Champion (14.74) after holding off rival--and fellow 2-5A underclassmenn--Matthew Malcolm (14.78) from West Monroe. 

   Chaunky Lewis was not as successful in the 300 hurdles, finishing third at the District 2-5 Meet behind Green and Malcolm, but he is still the No. 3 seed going into the Region I-5A Meet 

No. 3 - Pineville's Justin Descant  (800m)


    While some may have considered the sophomore's District 2-5A 800 meter win over Ruston Caleb Babineaux an upset, be careful to use that language around Descant, who finished second at the 2022 LHSAA Division I 800 meters and gave St. Agustine's Zander Dunbar all he wanted with his 1:57.88 effort. 

    It was just another day at the office for Descant.

    Now, Justin Descant finds himself in a field loaded with talented, older runners. 


No. 4 - Southside Landon Baptiste (HJ,TJ,LJ)

    To be honest, we don't know much about junior, but we do know that he is the District 3-5A champion in the high jump with a personal record 6-4. We also know that he qualified for the Region I-5A meet in the triple jump (44-0) and long jump (19-0) as well.

    A year ago, Landon Baptiste finished ninth with a jump of 5-10 at the 2021 Region I-5A Meet. This year, he carries the No. 1 seed to Natchitoches, where he try to punch his ticket to the big dance for the very time. 


No. 5 - Ruston's Joshua Anding (400m)

    

    The District 2-5A champion knows he has his work cut out for him at Wednesday's Region I-5A Meet (See No. 1 for details), but don't expect the junior from Ruston to lie down and let Shreve's Marquez Stevenson to win the 400m without a fight. 

    Joshua Anding finished fifth at last year's Region I Meet and despite having a couple of State Indoor appearances under his belt--including a third place finish in the 400m at the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor Meet, he is looking for his first LHSAA State Outdoor individual event. 

The Best of the Rest (in no particular order)...

No. 6 - Ouachita's Charlie Smith (Javelin)

The Ouachita sophomore picked a fine time to get his first victory of the season last week at the District 2-5A Meet in the javelin. Charles Smith was feeling it and had a personal record 171-1 on his was to district championship honors. 

No. 7 - Parkway's Gabe Falting (1600m, 3200m)

The sophomore's third place finishes in both the 1600 (4:45.14) and 3200 (10:08.93) helped the panthers to the boys' first-ever District 1-5A title last Thursday. He is the No. 6 seed in both events for Wednesday's meet.

No. 8 -Parkway's Devon Oliver (DS, SP)

Oliver, although only a freshman, has made a huge impact on the Parkway track and field program. His throws in the 140s in the discus have this Panther ranked in the Top 10 in the nation among all freshmen. Devon Oliver is seeded No. 2 in Region I-5A, and could come up with a gold medal if his district rival, Davis Sellers, is not able to produce the magic which led to his personal record 153-2 at last week's District 1-5A Meet. 

No. 9- Benton's Marc Perry  (HJ, LJ, TJ)

Although the sophomore triple jumper from Benton may have the No. 2 seed in the high jump to Landon Baptiste, don't be surprised if Mark Perry comes away with a Region I-5A win. He has made 6-4 three times this year. Baptiste has only made it once.

No. 10 - West Monroe's Matthew Malcolm (110h, 300h)

Not sure there anyone more deserving of an individual District 2-5A Championship, who came away empty handed last Wednesday at ULM's Brown Stadium. The Rebel junior certainly gave the fans their money's worth, finishing second to Ouachita's Chaunky Lewis (No. 2) in the 110 hurdles and Ruston's Brandon Green in the 300 hurdles by the narrowest of margins. Matthew Malcolm is seeded No. 2 in Region I-5A in both hurdle races.