TRISTAN GOODLY SPRINTS DOWN THE RUNWAY AT THE NIKE INDOOR NATIONALS!
Last year, it was the triple jump. This year, all eyes in Louisiana high school track and field are on the long jump where the state has two of the nation's best in Dutchtown senior Montrell Morris and Scotlandville's Broderick Davis.
Morris jumped 23-7 on Thursday to win the Episcopal Knights Relays. The mark is currently No. 1 in Louisiana and ranked No. 13 in the nation.
Davis, who finished second by a quarter of an inch at the New Balance Indoor Championships in Boston last weekend, will make his outdoor meet on Saturday at the Texas Southern Relays in Houston, but he will only compete in the 110m hurdles.
MONTRELL MORRIS TALKS ABOUT HIS 23-7 LJ AT THE EPISCOPAL RELAYS
At the LHSAA State Indoor Meet, Davis had a personal record by over a foot, jumping 24-0.25. The mark has Davis ranked No.8 in the nation for the indoor season.
The Baton Rouge area jumpers are following a script played out by Ruston's Brandon Green and Ouachita's Jeremy Nelson in the triple jump a year ago. Green, who competes for the Oklahomas Sooners, was the No. 1 ranked triple jump in the nation for the 2022 indoor season with a best of 51-6. Nelson was No. 4 in the nation with a jump of 49-11.25.
Outdoors, both Green and Nelson were among a handful of jumpers in the nation to break the 50 foot barrier.
What made the Green-versus-Nelson Battle unique was the proximity. Both lived 30 miles apart and they competed in the same district.
While Morris and Davis do not compete in the same district, they do compete in the same region. It will make for an interesting Region II-5A Meet at Catholic High School on Thursday, April 27.
Until then, both will continue to hone their craft. Davis is scheduled to compete at Scotlandville's home meet before competing in the Texas Relays at the end of the month.
It will be the second year in a row that Scotlandville head coach Allen Whitaker will be coaching a high-profile horizontal jumper in Austin. Last year, Whitaker was at the Texas Relays as the Ruston head coach coaching Brandon Green.
Just because this La. Long Jump Battle has taken center stage, doesn't mean that there is no carry over from last year's success in the triple jump. While Westlake's Tristan Goodly has taken a while to get back from his form which had him as one of the nation's top returners in the event, he ended the season on a positive note at the Nike Indoor Nationals-finishing seventh with a jump of 47-4.5 to finish the indoor season ranked No. 1 in Louisiana and No. 19 in the nation.
Goodly began is his outdoor campaign this week winning both the long jump (21-6) and the triple jump (46-8) at Wednesday's Sam Houston Bronco Relays. The triple jump mark is currently No. 1 in Louisiana.