BYRD'S MALLORY SWINT CROSSES THE LINE TO WIN THE 800m AT THE YELLOW JACKET RELAYS
Captain Shreve's Lionel Prudhomme wasted no time in the discus at Friday's Yellow Jacket Relays hosted by C.E. Byrd. On his first throw of the competition, Prudhomme launched a throw of 168-11, beating the old meet record by over 17 feet.
Currently, the throw is No. 1 in Louisiana and ranks No. 20 in the nation.
Prudhomme set the tone for the Gators, who scored 135 to win their season opener.
On the girls' side, C.E. Byrd sophomore Anna Lake Watts won the 1600m with a personal record of 5:28.35. She came back at the end of the meet and won the 3200m with a time of 11:46. Byrd freshman Emmy Banker was the runner-up in both the 1600m (5:54) and 3200m (13:17).
Two C.E. Byrd seniors--Mallory Swint and Aubree LaCroix--made it a perfect meet for the Lady Jackets distance group as they came in first and second in the 800m. Swint, who led the Lady Jackets to a meet record in the 4x800 to start the meet, won with a 2:32. LaCroix, who was also on the 4x800 team, was the runner-up in the 800m with a time of 2:39.
Other members of Byrd's record-breaking 4x800 girls relay were sophomores Emma Burney and Pressley Lockey, who were also Yellow Jackets' winning 4x400 relay. That quartet won the final event of the meet with a 4:21. Swint and Emma Flemming were the other two legs of the mile relay.
The Lady Jackets needed every one of the 64 points in the four distance events in order to beat District 1-5A foe Captain Shreve. The Byrd girls beat the Lady Gators by a one point, 125-124.
The Yellow Jackets also had distance event success on the boys' side where sophomore John Ferguson won the 3200m with a time of 10:50 while freshman teammate William Coburn finished second with a 11:07.
In the 1600m, Ferguson finished second to Loyola's Reese Jacobs (4:52) with a time of 4:55 and Coburn (5:01) finished fourth. Providence Classical Academy's Josh Pearce (4:55) finished third.
The Captain Shreve girls and Northwood boys swept both sprint relay events. The Lady Gators, who were anchored by MaKenzie Marshall won the 4x100 (49.67) and 4x200 (1:43.78). Marshall also won the long jump with a jump of 17-10.
The Falcon foursome of Jason Stroughter, Justin Thomas, Jeremiah Johnson, and Duntavious Young won gold in both the 4x100 (42.66) and 4x200 (1:29.29). The best part for Northwood head coach Austin Brown is that all four are underclassmen and will return in 2026.
Prudhomme wasn't the only one throwing his weight around in the field events. Parkway's Devon Oliver won the shot put with a throw of 54-2, breaking the old meet record by nearly two feet. It's the second win for Oliver in as many days as he won Benton's Shamocus Patton Memorial Relays on Thursday.
Oliver, who had best of 161-1 in the discus, had a mark better than the meet record, but finished second to Prudhomme.
In other news from the throwing events, two-time LHSAA Class 4A state champion SheLunda Brooks opened her season with a win in the girls shot put with a throw of 35-3.5. Haughton's Kinsley Brotherton, a Region 1-5A qualifier in the javelin a year ago, opened her senior season with a winning throw of 87-1. Caddo Magnet's Jahzi Strickland threw the discus 91-9 and she needed every inch to get the win. Parkway's Zaniyah Carter was second with a throw of 91-8.
Other winners in the boys' division include; Huntington's Sanjaya Falcon (10.87) in the 100m, Kayden Morgan (23.11) in the 200m, and Landon Gibbs (6-2) in the high jump, Loyola's Carter Ward (52.85) in the 400m, Mark Henry (2:04.16) in the 800m, and Joshua Lirette (9-6) in the pole vault, Mansfield's Jaden Youngblood (15.10) in the 110m hurdles, and Northwood's Keyiun Taylor (42.87) in the 300m hurdles, Shreve's Coren Hill (39-7) in the triple jump, and Northwood's Johnson (21-11) in the long jump. Tyler Fitzgerald (172-7) from Oklahoma's Edmond Memorial won the javelin.
Other winners in the girls division include; Mansfield's LaJordan Boykins (12.81) in the 100m, Northwood's Malayia Davis (26.33) in the 200m, Huntington's Livvy West (1:00.34) in the 400m and Anaiyah Narvaja (5-2) in the high jump , Shreve's Kenadie Robinson (16.54) in the 100m hurdles and Leah Bryant (47.27) in the 300m hurdles, and Carrington Hill (32-8) in the triple jump, and Loyola's Hayden DeBroeck (7-0) in the pole vault.