QUITMAN'S BRYAN LAY CELBRATES AFTER A 14-10 AT THE LSU LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER
It has all come down to this! It's the ballot to determine who will be the 2024 MileSplit LA Boys' Indoor Athlete of the Year. First, congratulations to all of the finalists. Each one of the names you see below won a MileSplit LA Performer of the week poll during the regular season. This poll will close on Saturday at 9pm. Thank you for voting.
BRENNAN ROBIN (Parkway) - Robin set the high school distance ranks on fire beginning with the very first indoor meet of his career at the LSU High School Classic. Robin won the 1600m with a time of 4:29. At the time, it was the No. 2 all-time 1600m by a freshman in an indoor meet. The only freshman distance runner who had a faster time than Robin was St. Paul's Eric Coston, who ran a 4:26.56. The following week, Robin went up to Fayetteville, Arkansas, where he ran the No. 1 time in the nation. Robin finished the season with a time of 4:22 at the LHSAA State Indoor Championships, surpassing Coston to become Louisiana's all-time No. 1 indoor freshman in the 1600m.
NA'RYAN DELONE (Glen Oaks) - Delone led his Panthers to the LHSAA Division 2 State Indoor Championship, but his spot here was sealed well before the state indoor meet. Delone won the Week No. 2 with his performance at the McNeese Indoor No.1 meet when he was among a handful of sprinters who broke the meet record in the 400m. Delone's time was 49.86. At the time, it ranked No. 2 in Louisiana behind John Curtis' King Taylor. Delone finished at No. 4 in all classes with a personal best of 49.69 at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier. But in ten years, Delone will probably not remember the Last Chance Qualifier. However, he will never forget the LHSAA State Indoor Championships, where he won state in both the 60m (6.88) and 400m (50.19) to guide the Panthers to their first state championship in school history.
VEDEREK MATTHEWS (Zachary) - The LSU HS Qualifier is one that Zachary's Vederek Matthews will not soon forget. The senior, who has overcome a lot of adversity during his career as a Bronco, left the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse with the Track MVP trophy after his performance in the 60m hurdles. Matthews ran a 7.95 to win easily. At the time, it was No. 12 in the nation. It was that performance that got Matthews on the Week No. 3 ballot and the Bronco Nation did the rest.
BRYAN LAY (Quitman) - Lay soared to new heights during the 2024 La. HS indoor season...literally. At the McNeese Indoor No. 2 Meet, Lay cleared the bar at 14-0 for the first time in his career. For an encore--with the help of the Carl Maddox Fieldhouse crowd and the public address announcer--Lay used the crowd's energy to help propel him to 14-10. It's the highest bar of any La. HS vaulter during the indoor season. Lay, or "Peanut" as he is affectionately known in the small Lincoln Parish town of Quitman, won the LHSAA Division 2 state championship--his first--with a clearance at 14-6.
TREVIN LEBOUEF (Central Lafourche) - The 800m race of the indoor season came at the Last Chance Qualifier where Lebouef edged out Jackson Burney. Lebouef came out on top with a Louisiana No. 1 time of 1:58.96. Unfortunately, Lebouef was not able to duplicate that at the LHSAA State Indoor Championships. Lebouef ran a 2:02 and finished fourth.
BENJAMIN RODRIGUE (E.D. White) - Won the final Performer of the Week poll after capturing his first state championship with a triple jump of 45-1.5 at the LHSAA Division 2 State Indoor Championships. The season best and personal record jump has Rodrigue ranked at No. 6 in all of La.