A quarter of an inch.
That is how far Scotlandville junior Broderick Davis was from being a national champion at the New Balance Indoor Championships in Boston last weekend.
Davis jumped 23-8 on his his third jump to take home the silver medal. The winner, Robert Handelsman jumped 23-8.25 on his third attempt to take the title.
"I loved the experience," Davis said. "The environment was so electrice and exciting and I enjoyed seeing the talent compete at the highest level."
Davis went to Boston not knowing what to expect after injuring his left wrist in practice and missing valuable practice time. In Boston, he had to learn--in a hurry--how to compete with a cast.
"I didn't really know how it would feel getting out of the blocks or landing in the sand," Davis said. "It took until my final jump in the prelims until I was comfortable jumping with a cast."
It was that jump which sent Davis into the finals, and gave him his runner-up status--narrowly missing the national title.
Davis wasn't the only Scotlandville junior who enjoyed success in Boston. Makeriah Harris put an exclamation mark on an incredible junior indoor season by finishing fourth in the nation in the girls' 60m hurdles with a personal record 8.37 and running a leg on a 4x400, which ran a blistering 3:52.
"I've been trying to lower my time in the hurdles," Harris said. "I knew I could do it, but that time was a shocker. During the race, I was just trying to stay calm and telling myself to get off the hurdle and get to the line."
The relay performance has Harris excited for the future.
"I was super proud of us to know we did a 3:52 without some of the team running their best splits and accomplishing that time with three juniors and a freshman," Harris said. "I know we will be unstoppable next year."
SCOTLANDVILLE'S MAKERIAH HARRIS RUNS IN THE GIRLS 4X400 RELAY. THE TEAM RAN 3:52!
Other members of the Run Fast Track Club's 4x400 relay team included juniors Layden Jack, Sade Gray, and freshman Dynasty Wilfred.
Their performance in Boston comes on the heels of an epic indoor season for both Davis and Harris. Davis defended his LHSAA Division I indoor state title in the 60m hurdles by defeating John Curtis' Justin Horne, who held the fieldhouse composite record (7.90) until Davis erased it with his 7.84. In the same meet, Davis long jumped 24-0.5, a personal record by over a foot and a No. 8 national ranking. Only one other junior in the nation jumped farther than Davis during the 2023 indoor season.
Harris was undefeated in the hurdles in Louisiana with a best of 8.51 at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier, where she shattered Alia Armstrong's meet record of 8.77.
With her performance in Boston, Harris moves past Mikiah Brisco (8.45) into the No. 2 all-time in Louisiana. At the top is Armstrong's 8.32 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in 2019.
Westgate's Dedrick Latulas saved the best for last in his senior indoor season. The senior Tiger had a personal record in the triple jump with an effort of 45-2.25 to finish eleventh in the event. Latulas' teammate, Mekhi Boutte, finished twelth in the 200m with a time of 21.62.
Highland Baptist freshman Tyler Blissett was ninth in the freshman mile with a time of 4:29. Blissett also competed in the same event at the Nike Indoor Nationals finishing on the podium with a third place performance of 4:28.