"Take care of your business."
That was the message Lake Charles College Prep head coach Jackie Rhine gave to his 4x400m relay as they went to check in Saturday night at LSU's Carl Maddox Fieldhouse for the final event of the LHSAA D2 State Indoor Championships.
Going into that event, the team knew they had a slim two-point (45-43) advantage over rival Glen Oaks, who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in 2024 to win the school's first state championship when LCCP was disqualified for have an outgoing leg on a 4x400m relay stand on the exchange line rather than behind it.
That mistake cost the Trailblazers the 2024 state championship, and Rhine made a promise after the meet that LCCP would be back.
His 4x400m quartet of Javerion Johnson, Careion Franklin, Derrick White, and Khel Arvie made good their coach's promise as they held off a pesky Glen Oaks relay team, which led for almost half the race. LCCP finished with a 3:29.19. The Panthers were the runner-up with a 3:32.
The performance allowed LCCP to finish with 55 points and to take home the LHSAA Division 2 State Championship trophy. Glen Oaks was the runner-up in Division 2 with 51 points.
The 4x400 team's performance capped off an incredible relay exhibition which--coming into the meet--the Trailblazers were supposed to come away with 26 points in the three relays, but the 4x800 team (8:27.47)of William Plaster, Tayshawn Palmer, Dashawn Beebe, and Arvie pulled off an upset to allow the LCCP to score a perfect 30 points.
On a night where relay handoffs were particularly disasterous across the board, no other track and field team in Louisiana in any division was able to win all three relays--except for LCCP.
LCCP's winning 4x200m team included Ayden Carter, Braylen White, Derrick White, and Franklin.
When it was over, Glen Oaks head Johnny Duncan immediately walked over to LCCP's team area and in a classy move shook the hands of every member of the LCCP staff.
A key event for the Trailblazers during the meet was the D2 boys' triple jump. The Trailblazers finished first and third giving LCCP 16 crucial points. Cameron Brazzle (47-3.25) was the state champion in the event with a jump of. Teammate Braylen White (66-1.5) finished on the podium with a third-place finish.