HUNTINGTON'S LANDON GIBBS COMPETES AS A FRESHMAN IN '23 YELLOW JACKET RELAYS
There will be plenty of talent on display Saturday morning at Shreveport's Lee Hedges Stadium at C.E. Byrd's Yellow Jacket Relays. We have posted an article on athletes we are looking to for record-breaking performances. In this article, we take a look at several sophomores, who may find their own name in a record book in the near future.
Captain Shreve' Jamarcea Plater
The sprinter turned some heads during the 2024 indoor season starting with the McNeese Indoor No. 1 Meet when he finished second overall in the 55m with a time of 6.83. No Sophomore in Louisiana had a faster time in the 55m than Plater. He was a model of consistency during-although he only competed in two indoor meets. In five races, all of his times were between 6.90 and 6.83. He opened up the outdoor season with a runner-up performance at the Giant Relays with an 11.63.
Byrd's Wyatt Ditt
Ditt picked up the first win of his high school career last Thursday in the outdoor opener at the Shamocus Patton Memorial Relays with a time of 51.94. Only two sophomores in the state of Louisiana ran faster than Ditt during the opening week of the Louisiana high school outdoor season.
The young man has come a long way from a year ago when he was ranked No. 92 in the state for freshmen boys in the 400m. Ditt's season best last year was 56.57.
Captain Shreve's Leah Bryant
Bryant won the District 1-5A championship in the high jump as a freshman with a jump of 5-0, which was only two inches shy of her personal record and season-best of 5-2. She was also the runner-up in the 300m hurdles with a time of 47.33. She opened the season with win in the 300m hurdles at the Giants relays with a 51.65. She will be one of the favorites to win both the high jump and 300m hurdles on Saturday.
Caddo Magnet's Jack Pattillo
Pattillo had two top five finishes at last week's Shammocus Patton Memorial Relays. He finished third in the 800m with a time of 2:07.75. In the 1600m, Pattillo finished fourth with a time of 4:47.22. His 800m time was 12 seconds better than his season best of 2:19 as a freshman. Currently, he ranks No 6 in La. among sophomore boys in the event.
Huntington's Landon Gibbs
Gibbs was ranked No. 13 among freshmen boys last year in the high jump with a best of 5-8. He picked up where he left off, opening his sophomore outdoor season with a jump of 5-8 at the Giants Relays. During the indoor season, Gibbs jumped 6-0 twice including a ninth-place finish at the LHSAA State Indoor Championships. Only one other sophomore in La. jumped higher than Gibbs during the 2024 indoor season. Gibbs, who is also on the football team, is a legacy athlete at Huntington. His father was an all-state high jumper for the Raiders in the mid 1980s.
North Desoto's Josie Parker
Parker finished third in the discus at the Shamocus Patton Memorial Relays with a throw of 97-0. The two throwers who finished ahead of Parker were Benton's Sadie Hamby and Haughton's Aniya Hill, who have both signed to compete in college. Parker's throw is currently ranked No. 2 in Louisiana among sophomore girls.
North Desoto's Kenny Thomas
Thomas finished third in his season opener at the Shamocus Patton Memorial Relays with a time of 11.40. He is currently ranked No. 8 in Louisiana among freshmen boys in the event. Thomas has an entered time for Saturday of 11.10. While entries for the meet have not closed, that time is currently seeded No. 1 going into Saturday's meet.
Northwood's Justin Thomas
Thomas is currently seeded No. 2 in the 100m for Saturday's 100m. He is also currently seeded No. 2 in the 200m with a time of 23.0. As a freshman, he finished sixth in that event at the District 1-4A Championships.