Dutchtown's Rachel Fereday surprised some people in 2022...including herself. The two-time 800m state champion began the year as one of the state's best in the event, but ended the year as the year at THE best.
Fereday will begin her senior season on Saturday, in the same building where she opened her junior campaign, at the LSU High School Classic, but things will be different this year.
This year, she will not sneak up on anyone.
"In the first couple of indoor meets last year, I didn't run a time that I was particularly proud of," Fereday said of her start in 2022. "I wasn't expecting to be a state champion at all. Whenever I went up against Laila (Jackson) in that state meet and beat her I was like 'OK, I really have a shot at this'."
After passing Higgins' Laila Jackson, the defending state champion both indoors and outdoors in 2021, in the last 100m of the 2022 LHSAA Division I State Indoor Meet, Fereday has never looked back.
"I had that extra pressure heading into the outdoor season," Fereday said. "I had that extra pressure to beat her again, and as you can tell, it was down to the wire."
With 150m left in the 2022 LHSAA State Outdoor Championship, Fereday, Jackson, and John Curtis' London Parker found themselves in a familiar position-battling for a state championship in the 800m.
At the top of the curve, Fereday worked herself out of a position where she would be boxed in. She then saw Jackson a few strides ahead of her and had a decision to make.
"I thought to myself, do I let her win," Fereday said. "Then a switch went off in my head. 'I have to go..I've worked too hard. I've got to give it all I have and leave it all on the track. It was down to the wire and a matter of the lean at the finish line."
It is seldom that a 800m state championship comes down to a lean at the finish line, but that's exactly what happened-and it gave Fereday her second state championship of 2022.
Sitting on the leader in the 800m is something Fereday has been accustomed to doing since beginning track and field as an eight year-old multi-event athlete for the U.S. Express Track Club in Baton Rouge.
As she has gotten older, Fereday has specialized in the event where she has had the most success.
"That was my strategy whenever I started the 800m in middle school because I started doing the pentathlon and heptathlon," Fereday said. "I started doing the 800m and found that was my strength. During the race I would just sit on everyone's shoulder and pass them at the end."
While that strategy has worked in the past, Fereday knows that as the state's best 800m runner, she will have run in the front.
" Last year and this year, I'm trying to stay in front of everyone just for the sake of getting a time and hitting my goals," Fereday said.
Fereday is excited about kicking off the 2023 season this Saturday.
"I'm excited to see where God will take me and see what happens with the college thing because there are still a lot of unknowns. I'm excited to see how my future plays out," Fereday said.
One of those places could be a service academy. Fereday has visited the Naval Academy, where her brother graduated in 2020, and she has a trip planned to the Air Force Academy later this month. LSU is also in her top three.
Before deciding where she plans to continue her career, Fereday knows that she has to focus on hitting her goals and defending her state titles in the 800m.
"2:14 is where I want to go indoors," Fereday said. "For this first meet, maybe not 2:14. Just stay comfortable and see where I'm at."
Outdoors, Fereday's goal is in the 2:12-2:11 range.
"I know its a lot, but with my amazing coach, I think I can get there," Fereday said.
The coach is Dutchtown's Mitch Bogran.
"He goes above and beyond for all of us," Fereday said. "I was just talking today with my friend at practice how he is one of those coaches that doesn't make me hate my sport. I've been doing track since I was eight years old. That's a long time and it's a miracle I haven't burned out on it, and I would say definitely because I have a coach that helps me and doesn't stress me out and kill me with workouts and stuff."
You can watch Fereday-and many of the other great track and field athletes in the state as the 2023 indoor season gets under way with the 2023 LSU High School Classic. The meet will be LIVE on Saturday at la.milesplit.com.