In 20205, Catholic's William Decuir saved his best for last.
The beginning wasn't bad either as he opened up his season at the LSU High School Qualifier by breaking the 2:00 in his specialty-the 800m. His time of 1:59.04 landed him just off the podium in fourth place.
Over the next month, Decuir went back to work-trusting the process laid out by head coach Sean Brady and distance coach Zach Cappello-and it paid off as Decuir finished second in the 800m at the LHSAA State Indoor Meet with a time of 1:58.
His effort in the 800m and also bringing the Bears 4x400 from behind to win the relay helped Catholic to an LHSAA State Indoor title.
What Decuir did in the post season was truly remarkable as he ran a 1:54.39 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston, MA.
That performance ranks No. 3 all-time indoors in Louisiana history. Only St. Louis Catholic's Blair Henderson (1:52.22) and Rhen Langley (1:54.36) have run faster.
LOUISIANA'S ALL-TIME 800m INDOOR RANKINGS
For sophomores, Decuir's time is No. 1 all-time in Louisiana-and it's not even close. Decuir bumped Eric Coston's 1:56.89 in 20215 to No. 2.
Nationally, Decuir ranked No. 4 in the nation for sophomores and is ranked No. 26 for all returners. Those accolades have Decuir at No. 6 on our list of Louisiana's Top 11 athletes.
While strolling down memory lane, we would be remiss if we did not mention Decuir's outdoor season, which culminated with an incredible 1600m finish against one of the all-time greats in Louisiana history-Jesuit's Brady Mullen.
Jesuit head coach Nick Accardo emptied the gun so to speak using all of the bullets in the chamber to give the Blue Jays a shot to win the LHSAA State Outdoor Championship. This included having Mullen double up in both the 1600m and 3200m.
The plan almost worked had it not been for Decuir's finish in the 1600m. Decuir pulled up beside Mullen, who tried to find another gear-stumbling in the process. Decuir dove across the line to pull off the win-not only in the 800m, but the meet as well.
