JESUIT'S PATRICK DOWD COMES ACROSS THE FINISH LINE AT THE GRIZZLY RELAYS 1600m!
In the final scene of A Few Good Men, actor Tom Cruise, playing a Navy attorney who is notorious for making plea deals, looks around an empty courtroom where-- just moments before--he was able to get Colonel Jessup, played by Jack Nicholson, to admit to the court that he-in fact- did order the Code Red which was responsible for the death of Private William Santiago.
"So this what a courtroom looks like," Cruise said sarcastically in the blockbuster's final line.
Jesuit senior Patrick Dowd, running in his first--and last- -outdoor 1600m race on Thursday evening, probably did something similar after winning the Grizzly Relays with a meet record of 4:16.03.
'So this is what an outdoor 1600m is all about.'
If he did take a moment to reflect on the new experience, it would not be the first he has turned contemplative after a competition. After Dowd and his Jesuit teammates made national news last Fall by winning the Nike Town Twilight Invitational in Terre Haute, Indiana, Coach Cullen Doody lost his senior leader during the team's cool down run.
Dowd had stopped to look around the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course and soak it all in.
"I was just thinking about how far we (Jesuit) have come in the last four years," Dowd said about the moment. "You know we finished fifth at state three times. Being in Indiana at one of the historic courses in America with the fireworks in the background, it was such an experience to realize how far we've come and what we are able to do when we compete as a team."
His time on Thursday is the fastest 1600m in Louisiana by seven seconds, but Dowd told MileSplit LA's Mandi Monistere that he is one and done with the event and that he will run the 3200m at next week's District 9-5A Meet.
"It's nice to have something to fall back on," Dowd said of running the fast 1600m. "Everyone always asks what your mile time is. They don't necessarily care about the 3K."
The only other time Dowd ran the 1600m during his high school career was a couple of indoor meets during the 2022 indoor season. His fastest 1600m time before Thursday evening was a 4:30.19 at the 2022 LHSAA State Indoor Meet.
Dowd's teammate Zack Blanchard finished right behind Dowd with a 4:16.99, it's the No. 2 time in Louisiana during the 2023 outdoor season.
There weren't any new experiences for Brother Martin's Gabriel Metoyer after winning the Grizzly Relays 3200m but there was a new personal record-9:35.38.
"My coach told me to just time trial it," Metoyer said. "Just stay relaxed and run like I would normally run. Today was a good day to come back and show everyone that I'm still good. I'm not washed. I came out here, stayed relaxed, and decided to go on the last 400m."
Only four La. high school runners have run faster than Metoyer's time this season.