No.6
Brother Martin opens with win in Mobile! The Crusaders made a statement dring the opening week of the cross country season as Brother Martin won team honors at the Mobile Challenge of Champions scoring 28 points. Led by junior Gabriel Metoyer, who finished second overall, Brother Martin placed five runners in the top eight.
Coach Drew Haro's team used the momentum from the week one win to have an outstanding 2022 season, capped off by a second place finish to Jesuit at the LHSAA Division I Cross Country Championships.
No.5
St. Joseph's wins their 7th straight! "It was Vaughan's turn," St. Joseph's Academy head coach Mark LaHaye said after his Stickers won their seventh straight LHSAA cross country championship in Natchitoches on Monday, November 14. LaHaye was referring to his junior state champion Hannah Vaughan, who held off the defending champion, Ruston's Lily Garrett. It was SJA's eighth win in the last nine years. Hear from both LaHaye and Vaughan in the full story below.
No.4
Seniors lead Ruston sweep at regionals. In their last appearance at Lincoln Parish Park, the Ruston Bearcats made it count in front of friends and family. Even more special is the fact that the Ruston team was led by two seniors --Lily Garrett and Bryar Madden, who both won top individual honors. For Garrett (18:07.43), who had committed to the University of Tennesse earlier in the season, it was one second off her season best. Madden's 15:37 was a season best by 19 seconds. While the Bearcats opened in Mississippi and also ran in Texas and Arkansas, they enjoyed one last successful day on their home course.
No.3
Houma Christian's Emma Bourg breaks 18:00. Bourg came into the LHSAA State Cross Country Championships with the fastest time. She could have easily cruised to victory in her Division IV race, but she wanted to make a statement. Running in near freezing and wet conditions at the Northwestern State University course, Bourg became the only female in the state of Louisiana to break 18:00 on the three mile course. It was also the largest margin of victory as Bourg finished her raced before the next closest competitior entered the Walter Ledet Track & Field Complex track.
READ MORE: Houma Christian's Emma Bourg writes about her journey
No. 2
An Unlikely Chesnut leads Terriers to title. Vandebilt Catholic is used to having a Chesnut lead the Terriers to a team title. But it is usually Ella Chesnut, who is now competing at LSU. With her older sister comepeting at LSU, seventh grader Charlotte Chesnut stepped in and finished just ahead of the sixth place runner from Academy of Sacred Heart New Orleans' sixth place runner to break the tie in team scoring. The Terriers were also led by the Division II champion Brynn Kelso, who successfully defended her title.
READ MORE: Familiar names lead Terriers to LHSAA D-II XC Title!
No.1
Jesuit earns No. 1 ranking in USA & Perfect scores at the state meet! Our No. 1 story of the year? Of course, it's the Jesuit Blue Jays. Coach Cullen Doody's team has cemented their place in history as the fastest cross country team in the history of Louisiana. They proved as much when the Blue Jays, thanks to a heroic effort by at the end by 2021 LHSAA state champion Michael Vocke, scored a perfect score at the 2022 LHSAA State Cross Country Championships--placing runners in the No.1 through No. 5 position.
For good measure, Jesuit, led by state champion Jack DesRoches, also had their No. 6 and No. 7 runners also finished in the Top 10!
In a word...amazing!
However, the Blue Jays made history in 2022 long before arriving in Natchitoches for the LHSAA state meet. Earlier in the season, they made history by being selected the No. 1 team in the nation by MileSplit USA. This occurred after the Blue Jays' impressive win at the Nike Town Twilight in Terre Haute, Indiana.
READ MORE: Jesuit earns No. 1 ranking after Nike Town Twilight in Indiana!
READ MORE: Jesuit has PERFECT day at the office at LHSAA Division I State Meet!
