The first roar from Carl Maddox Fieldhouse capacity crowd duinrg the indoor season was Langley's 4:13.91 in the 1600m at the LSU High School Qualifier. It was a Carl Maddox Fieldhouse record! Then, Langley goes 9:16.10 in the 3200m at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier. Another roar and yet another Fieldhouse composite record. To cap off one of the most successful indoor seasons in La. HS history, Langley triples in all three distance events at the 2023 LHSAA Indoor Meet. 

Langley, who has an uncle who works in the horse racing business, pulled off the La. high school distance triple crown. And it couldn't have come at a better time as Langley begins his last semester at Zachary High School before moving on to LSU.

60 hours after his state meet performance, Langley celebrated by waking up on Mardi Gras morning and having a piece of King Cake. It was so good, he had two. Why not...in a season where he had his cake...and ate it, too!

Girls' MVP - Scotlandville's Makeriah Harris

"I want to be legendary"

That is what Makeriah Harris said after the McNeese Indoor No. I Meet. After her incredible indoor campaign to begin her junior track and field season, we consider it Mission Accomplished for Harris. 

There are many moments we could point to in establishing her greatness, but let's start with the LSU Last Chance Qualifier where Harris ran a leg on the winning Lady Hornet 4x800 relay before reporting to the finals of the 60m hurdles where she shattered Alia Armstrong's meet record with an 8.51.

Harris said that she thinks her leg on the 4x800 helped her in the finals. We will take her word for it. 

For those who don't know, the aforementioned Armstrong finished fourth in the 100 hurdles in the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon last summer. 

Team of the Year - Scotlandville

Another no brainer here. It's hard to win a state championship. It's even harder to sweep to the LHSAA Sate Indoor Meet in both the girls and boys divisions, but that is what the Hornets were able to do. It didn't hurt that the Hornets had a new coach on their staff who knew the receipe for success. See below. 

For the girls' team, it was their second state track and field championship in a row as they are the defending LHSAA Class 5A State Outdoor Champion after edging out Ruston a year ago. 

Coach of the Year - Scotlandville's Allen Whitaker

It's rare for a state championship coach like Allen Whitaker to pick up and move across the state, but that is what former Ruston head coach Allen Whitaker did after leading the Bearcats to a sweep of the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor titles. While he had other offers, Whitaker felt God leading him to Scotlandville. With him came his son, Josiah Whitaker, and assistant coach Kevin Jackson. 

Whitaker becomes the first coach in Louisiana high school track and field history to sweep boys and girls back-to-back state championships at two different schools. 

Whitaker has also helped Scotlandville's Broderick Davis ascend to become one of the nation's best long jumpers during the 2023 indoor season. That is another area where Whitaker has experience, having coached Oklahoma's Brandon Green to multiple state titles and national rankings last year. 

Assistant Coach of the Year - Zachary's Amanda Woosley

There are many great assistant track and field coaches in the state Louisiana. Zachary's throws coach Amanda Woosley stood out in during the 2023 indoor season with her work in getting Jaydan Jackson back in championship form after a disappointing, injury-plagued end to the 2022 outdoor season.

But it wasn't just Jackson. Woosley developed Ambria Langley to the point where she was pushing Jackson in every meet. The Lady Broncos went 1-2 in the shot put at the LHSAA State Indoor Championship. Jackson won with a 43-1.25. Langley, who had a best of 30-9.25 last year, was the runner-up with 42-10.5. 

Newcomer of the Year - Warren Easton's Germain Smith-Mata and Louise S. McGehee's Kali Magana

Warren Easton's Germain Smith-Mata and Louise S. McGehee's Kali Magana had to sit out last due to LHSAA transfer rules. Bother were at John Curtis, but when Coach E.D. Smith left the Patriots, both Smith-Mata and Magana decided look for a new home.

Germain-Smith followed his father to Warren Easton, and calls the off year "a blessing."

One thing is for sure, it didn't them long to make their presence felt on the Louisiana high school scene. Smith-Mata finished the season as Louisiana's fastest high school sprinter after winning the 60m ( ) and defeating the defending state champion (Edna Karr's Ra'hji Dennis) and LHSAA Class 5A state outdoor 100m champion (Holy Cross' Krosse Johnson) in the proces.

Magana finishes her first season back with a No. 1 ranking in the girls 400m with her time of 55.92, which was run at the Elite Scholastic Meet in Virginia. Magana finished her season with a win in the LHSAA D-II 400m (56.71).

Race of the Year - LHSAA Division I 60m hurdle Finals

When John Curtis' Justin Horne won the LSU High School Classic with a fieldhouse composite record of 7.90, it appeared as if he had had pulled away from a talented group of some of the best hurdlers in the state. But looks can be deceiving. And Scotlandville's Broderick Davis had other plans.

Davis, who defeated Horne in the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor, successfully defended his title by defeating Horne again at the state indoor meet. Davis came across the line in 7.84, erasing his fieldhouse composite record. 

This will be a fun battle to follow as we head into the 2023 outdoor season.