ISABELLE RUSSELL (30) & CHEYENNE OLSON (74) COMPETE IN 2021 REGION I-5A MEET
There are several questions heading into week No. 2 of the Louisiana high school cross country season. Here are a few we are looking forward to answering.
Can Matthew Maynard & the Catholic Bears make it 2-0?
Last week, Matthew Maynard and the Catholic Bears opened up with victories at St. Michael's Bayou Boogie Classic at Baton Rouge's Highland Road Park. Maynard won the three-mile race with a time of 16:00, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the state of Louisiana. Maynard led the Bears, who placed six runners with sub 17 minute performances in the top ten, to the team title.
This week, things will get a little tougher for the Bears, or will they? Catholic will participate in the Episcopal's Roundtable Run.
Can the Bears-go 2-0? MileSplit LA will be there to find out. Mandi Monistere will have race video and interviews. Kyle Valdez will bring you the action from behind the lens of his camera.
Will Gabriel Falting win his first Border Dash?
As the son of Parkway head cross country coach, Gabe Falting has been around Northwest Louisiana's largest cross country meet, Parkway's Border Dash, his entire life. He has come close to taking home the individual first place trophy-like last year when he finished second to Byrd's Trent Wells.
Looking at Falting's time of 16:14 in the 5K at The Opener in Clinton, MS, which was a minute faster than his previous best, it's obvious that he is a favorite in the boys' race which will take place this Saturday at South Bossier Park?
Who will give Falting a run for his money? Will it be Captain Shreve's Evan Johnson, who beat Falting in the Sportspectrum Firecracker 5K on July 4th? What about Eric Ramsey of D'arbonne Woods Charter School, who has the second fastest seeded time (16:38) going into the race?
Jerry Byrd will be covering the race for MileSplit Louisiana, and we are excited about adding a new contributor-photographer Kevin Pickens to the MileSplit LA team.
Will St. Joseph's be able to post times similar to 2021?
Nobody is suggesting it's time for the Stickers to hit the panic button. It's only one week into the cross country season. Last year, St. Joseph's opened up at the Episcopal Roundtable with some fast times. Six runners broke 20 minutes for the three mile race.
This year, the Stickers split their team and sent a few of their more experienced runners to Mobile for the Challenge of Champions 5K Invitational. No runner broke 20 minutes. It will be interesting to see if St. Joseph's can put up fast times at this year's Episcopal Roundtable like they did a year ago. If the time differential is due to injuries, it begs another question. When will St. Joseph's get back to 2021 form, or will they?
Which Bossier Parish Runner will come out on top at the Border Dash?
This summer, the fastest three high school girls in Bossier Parish found themselves competing against each other at the largest road race in North Louisiana - Sportspectrum's Firecracker 5K. All three finished in the top ten. Benton freshman Claire Allen finished sixth overall in the women's division with a time of 20:33. Parkway's Cheyenne Olson was right behind Allen in seventh place with a time of 21:04. Benton senior Isabelle Russell finished tenth with a 21:44.
Saturday, all three will be racing together for the first time at Parkway's Border Dash. Will the order of the fastest girls in Bossier parish remain the same? Who has made the most improvement since July 4th? While all three had strong openers, it will be interesting to see how they finish at the The Border Dash at South Bossier Park on Saturday morning.