2024 STORIES OF THE YEAR: Harris Breaks State LJ Record!

Dec 25, 2024

TRISTEN HARRIS SOARS THROUGH THE AIR AT THE LHSAA CLASS 4A STATE OUTDOOR MEET

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We are counting down the Top 15 stories in 2024. Today, we are on No. 7. If you miss an article, you can catch up by checking out the links at the bottom of this article.]

West Feliciana's Tristen Harris soared to new heights in 2024. She went places where no female long jumper in the history of Louisiana have gone as she broke Huntington's Teresa Foster's 33-year-old composite long jump record at the LHSAA Class 4A State Outdoor Championships.

To say that recruiting heated up for Harris after state meet performance would be an understatement. Earlier this month, that process concluded when she signed the University of South Carolina.

WATCH: MileSplit LA Editor Jerry Byrd Interviews Tristen Harris!

In a sense, Harris' performance at the state outdoor meet was not a surprise to anyone who followed her during the 2024-starting the indoor season.

She finished second at the New Balance Indoor Championships with a jump of 20-4.5. It was her third time reaching the 20 foot barrier. Her season best was a 20-5 jump at the LSU Last Chance Qualifier. She is the only jumper in Louisiana history to jump 20 feet or better.

Outdoors, Harris continued to impress jumping over 20 feet several times starting with the Texas Relays, where she won with a wind aided leap of 20-3. Her best jump of the season came at the St. Amant meet where she jumped an amazing mark of 21-2.25.

RACE VIDEO: Watch Tristen Harris win the LHSAA Class 4A State Outdoor 200m!

She is the No. 1 returner in the nation heading into the 2025 season.

For the purposes of this article, we have focused on the long jump--because that was the story in 2024, but Harris was also one of the fastest sprinters in the state ago. She won both the LHSAA Class 4A State Outdoor Championships in both the 100m (11.56) and 200m (24.13).

Improving on those times this year will put Harris in the conversation with the fastest sprinters in the nation.