THE TOP TEN FINISHERS IN THE BOYS D1 OF THE LHSAA STATE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS
The long blue and white wave swept over the cloudy course once again in Natchitoches, La.at the LHSAA D1 Boys State Cross Country Championships in Natchitoches where-unless you were wearing a Jesuit or Brother Martin singlet-it was tough to find yourself in the top ten.
As expected, Jesuit's Brady Mullen successfully defended his title from a year ago, winning with a time of 14:44. It was the fastest time of the day by 20 seconds and set a D1 course record.
"We did what we had to do," first-year Jesuit head coach Nick Accardo said after the Blue Jays won their fourth consecutive state championship.
Right behind Mullen was teammate, junior Brady Monahan, who finished with the second fastest time of the day with a 14:58.
Jesuit's one-two punch allowed the Blue Jays to score 28 points and edged out District 9-5A rival Brother Martin, who finished as the runner-up for the third consecutive year. The Crusaders were led by Noah Mooney who finished third with a time of 15:03.
Other Jesuit runners finishing in the top ten included Nick Accardo Jr. (No. 5, 15:15) and Nicholas Braud (No. 7, 15:27).
Brother Martin also had four runners in the top ten. Besides Mooney, the Crusaders had Jack Collins (No. 6, 15:20), Patrick Trainor (No. 9, 15:30), and Braeden Dunne (No. 10, 15:35).
The only two runners in the top ten not wearing Jesuit or Brother Martin were two super sophomores-Parkway's Brennan Robin and Catholic High Baton Rouge's William Decuir-who both capped off brilliant seasons. Robin finished No.4 with a time of 15:10. Decuir came in at No. 8 with a 15:29.