BROTHER MARTIN'S SENIORS TOOK TIME FOR A PICTURE BEFORE SATURDAY'S BAYOU BOOGIE
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
As the 2024 Louisiana high school cross country opened up on Saturday, it was two familiar teams dominating the first big meet of the season at St. Michael's Bayou Boogie Classic at Baton Rouge's Highland Park. Brother Martin had four of the top five finishers in the boys division to help them to a score of 19, and St. Joseph's Academy, who scored 23 points, was equally as dominant with six of the top nine finishers in the girls' division.
Both schools had runners to win the individual championships. Brother Martin's Noah Mooney picked up where he left off last season, winning the boys individual title by over half a minute with a time of 15:23. In the girls division, it was SJA's Michelle Daigle, running alone, who won top honors with her time of 17:56.
Other top five finishers in the boys' division included Brother Martin's Braeden Dunne (16:04), Walker's Peyton Levy (16:07), Brother Martin's Trey Trainor (16:12), and Brother Martin's Jack Collins (16:18).
In the girls' division, the other top five finishers included Mt. Carmel's Stella Junius (19:31), St. Amant's Ella Willoughby (19:37), Christ Episcopal's Noah Watson (19:50), and SJA's Sara Pasquier (19:52).
"I thought the team performed well for week one," Brother Martin head coach Drew Haro said. "The wet and muddy conditions gave us a chance to really forget about the times and focus on just running hard and competing with the guys around us. Anytime we can do that well, we're going to like how we finish."
One of the highlights for Haro was getting to watch all eight of Brother Martin's seniors compete together perhaps for the only time this year. However, the "icing on the cake" was seeing the Crusader's JV and junior high teams win their divisions.
"What a great day to be a Crusader Harrier!," Haro said.
Mooney called the race one of "attrition."
"The elements, the mud especially, negatively impacted our race and thus our true performance," Mooney said. "Despite the struggle, me my teammates remained on top and aim to continue to do so throughout the season."
Daigle echoed those sentiments.
"Pretty muddy and rough weather, but the outcome with no competition was very exciting," Daigle said. "Today was great, but I know I was capable of so much more. I'm excited for what's to come."
What's to come for both Daigle and Mooney is their final cross country season leading two of the top programs in Louisiana. It will culminate in 10 weeks with the 2024 LHSAA State Cross Country Championships in Natchitoches on Monday, November 18.