LHSAA Class 4A/5A State Podium Had It All!

When the championship hardware was passed out after the LHSAA Class 4A and 5A State Championships at Bernie Moore Stadium late Saturday night, there were some familiar faces, a new kid on the block, and a rare two-team picture.

Thirty years after winning the school's last state track and field championship, the Huntington Lady Raiders took the Class 4A championship back to Shreveport's Rasberry Lane.

In the boys' divisions, both 5A Catholic High, with first-year head coach Sean Brady, and 4A Westgate  defended their state outdoor championships from a year ago. Scotlandville, who won it all in 2022 shared the podium with Zacharay as both teams scored 70 points in the girls Class 5A division.

The Lady Raiders, who scored 87 points--35 points more than runner-up West Feliciana, were led by junior Demetria Harris, and seniors Rondisia Williams and Serenity Palmer, who scored 18 points each in their individual events. 

Harris won the 100 hurdles (14.47) and finished second in the long jump (17-9). Williams came from behind to win the 100m (11.92) and closed strong to finish as the runner-up in the 200m (24.78). Palmer won the triple jump (36-3) and finished as the runner-up in the high jump (5-1.75).

The Huntington girls also won both the sprint relays. The Huntington 4x100 ran a 47.45 while the 4x200 team broke their own school record with a time of 1:38.66.

"We are tremendously proud of the young ladies," Huntington head coach Joan Catanese said. "They worked tremendously hard. And we're excited for our school."

Once again, Scotlandville's Makeriah Harris and Sade Gray led the Lady Hornets. Harris set a composite state record in the Class 5A 300m hurdles with a 41.49, breaking the record set by LSU's Aaliyah Armstrong (42.60) which was set in 2019. Harris also won the 100m hurdles with a Class 5A record of 13.49.

Gray added to her state championship collection by winning both the 100m (11.86) and 200m (24.35). The Zachary sprint group did not make it easy for Gray. Freshman Talar Johnson finished second in the 100m (11.98) and Jaala Thymes finished second in the 200m (24.56). 

Harris and Gray joined teammate Madyson Kent and Sincere Wilson to set a composite record in the 4x200m, winning with a 1:36.80. Zachary finished second with a 1:37.57, which was also faster than the previous record of 1:37.92 by Baton Rouge Magnet set in 2002. 

"Everybody did what they were supposed to do," Scotlandville head coach Ursula Harris. "We had a little trouble with the handoff in the 4x100, but they still came on. It was a long day. We wanted to make sure they stay motivated. Make sure they were hydrated. Make sure they had their snacks and things they needed to compete because we never knew what time the meet was going to start."

The running events were originally scheduled to begin at 2:30pm, but were delayed four hours due to the rain and lightning. Before the running events began, meet officials moved most of the field events indoors to the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse. 

Scotlandville's miscue in the 4x100 may have gone unnoticed to the casual observer. Like the 4x200, Scotlandville ran faster than the composite record, and finished second with a 46.50. The Lady Hornets were beat by Zachary, who now holds the composite record 46.03. 

Catholic was led by seniors Winston Decuir and Louis Rudge. Decuir, who was the runner-up in both the 400m (48.06)  and 800m (1:52.42), scored 16 points, and Rudge finished second in the 110m hurdles (14.13)  and third in the 300m hurdles (37.71). 

"It's a great group," Catholic head coach Sean Brady said. "It's a great program with a rich tradition. And the guys expect to win. My job is a whole lot easier when you come off of a history that Catholic has. I'm real proud of this group. It certainly didn't go by the form chart tonight. We had kids to step up when one went down."

Between his races, Rudge made sure to watch the girls' 800m where his girlfriend-Rachel Fereday finished her stellar high school career by breaking the composite record in the girls' 800m with a time of 2:11.75. She broke the 2004 record of Mandeville's Chelsey Jones (2:12.04). Fereday will now head to the Air Force Academy where she will continue her career. 

Westgate's Mekhi Boutte , a University of Louisiana--Lafayette signee, won the 100m (10.54) and closed strong in the last 20 meters of the 400m to win with a 48.07. Boutte also finished fourth in a tight 200m with a time of 21.67. Westgate also picked up 20 points from Dedrick Latulas, who won both the long jump (22-6.25) and triple jump (45-4.25). 

Westgate's 4x200 kicked off the running events by winning with a season best 1:26.60. 

John Curtis'  Justin Horne, who will get ready to head to Texas Tech, closed his career with the MVP award in the LHSAA Class 5A State Outdoor Meet after winning both the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles. He saved his best for last running personal records of  13.82 in the 110m hurdles and 37.25 in the 300m hurdles.

West Feliciana sophomore Tristen Harris was the MVP in Class 4A. Harris finished second to Williams in the 100m (11.95), won the 200m (24.75) and long jump (18-0.25). 

Athletes winning multiple events include John Ehret's Armani Cargo, Mount Carmel's Catalina Reichard, Vandebilt Catholic's Brynn Kelso, and Zachary's Jaydan Jackson. Cargo won the Class 5A boys' 100m (10.45) and 200m (21.15). Reichard won the Class 5A girls' 1600m (5:04.36)  and 3200m (11:05.96). Kelso won the distance double in Class 4A with a 1600m time of 5:10.56 and finished the 3200m with a 11:30.21. Jackson won the shot put (44-1.5) and discus with a class 5A record of 146-8.

The Jesuit boys went 1-2 in both the 1600m and 3200m. Junior Michael Vocke (4:15.60) held off teammate Jack DesRoches (4:16.41)to win his third consecutive 1600m title. Blue Jay seniors Patrick Dowd (9:14.49) won the 3200m while teammate Robert Buisson (9:21.59) finished as the runner-up.