La. High School Coaches Weigh in on Top Stories of 2025

Jerry Byrd

THE BENTON GIRLS 4X400 WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF 2025 FOR BENTON HC CLINT BARNES

While MileSplit LA covered some of the top stories in 2025, we decided to turn the assignment over to some of the coaches in Louisiana and get their take. Here is what a few of them had to say.

Brother Martin Head Cross Country Coach, Drew Haro

  1. Aiden Monistere running 4:06 for 1600m and sub 8:50 in the 3200m last season was awesome.

  2. William Decuir upsetting Brady Mullen in the 1600m at state was a great race to watch.

  3. Watching my friend Jordan Reed coach E.D. White to both boys and girls cross country titles was exciting.

  4. Seeing the Mount Carmel Academy girls dethrone St. Josephs Academy for their first title in 2007 reminded me that nothing is a given in high school sports.

Parkway Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach, Kent Falting

  1. Mt. Carmel beating SJA in XC

  2. Catholic beat Jesuit by 1 pt at the state track meet, winning it in the 4x4.

  3. Tristen Harris sweeping her events in 4A at the state meet

  4. 5A Region 1 boys throwers dominance.

  5. LSU Women qualifying for XC nationals for the first time in school history. 

For Benton head track and field coach Clint Barnes, a couple of the biggest stories of 2025 happened within his own team.

Scores were coming in fast at the end of the District 1-5A championships. Barnes debated whether to tell his girls 4x400m that they would have to beat Captain Shreve in the final event of the meet to win the district championship.

In the end, Barnes told the foursome of Tatiana Saulter, Dominique Coore, Kyla Daux, and Cylah Grigsby).

When he told the relay team the assignment, he could see a nervousness on their face but mixed in with the nerves was determination.

Coming in the best time that Benton had posted in the event was a 4:17. At the finish line, Coore out leaned the Captain Shreve anchor leg to give Benton the win in the event with a time of 4:07...and a new school record. 

Also, on Barnes' list of great stories in 2025 is pole vaulter Miller Malley, who reached the 16-foot barrier in his last home meet of his career at the District 1-5A Championships.