ASH's CARTER RIVET WAS ALL SMILES AFTER HIS 2025 OPENER AT MCNEESE
The flowing locks streaming off each side of Alexandria's Carter Rivet's head give off major Sampson vibes. And Rivet's performances of Biblical proportions in 2025 did nothing to dispel the comparison.
He opened the 2025 season at the McNeese Indoor No. 1 meet where he finished fifth in a loaded field with a throw of 51-8.
He improved in every meet except one-and even his performance in that meet-the LSU Last Chance Qualifier-was solid.
At the 2025 LHSAA State Indoor Meet, he let it all hang out finishing as the runner-up with an incredible personal record throw of 57-7.75-an improvement of over three feet from his previous personal best.
That throw ranks No. 9 all-time indoors in Louisiana history and is six feet better than any freshmen in the MileSplit LA database.
Nationally, Rivet was ranked No. 1 in the nation among freshmen boys. The No. 2 ranked freshman, Oswald Jacquet II, did not break the 55-foot barrier. Also, Rivet is ranked No. 22 in the United States among all returners in the shot put.
This puts Rivet at No. 6 on our list of Louisiana's Top 11 athletes heading into the 2026 season.
Outdoors, Rivet won eight straight meets in the shot put which concluded with a District 2-5A championship where he threw a personal record 59-2.
Although the season didn't end the way that Rivet wanted it to, he went back to the lab over the summer and ended his season in spectacular fashion-winning national championships in both the shot put (58-1) and discus (195-4) at the AAU Junior Olympics.
The throw in the discus puts Rivet at No. 2 on the US All-Time list for freshmen boys in the discus. The only freshman to have a better throw was New Jersey's Benjamin Shue in 2022, who is now competing for the University of Texas.
When Shue was a freshman, he had three meets at the end of the season where he threw in the 193-0 range, but on June 10th, 2022 was able to launch a throw out to 198-5.
Going into the 2026 outdoor season, Rivet is ranked No. 10 in the nation for returners in the discus.
Recent workouts posted on social media show Rivet squatting 500 lbs. The bar, bouncing with the load on each side, seems to be struggling more than Rivet. Heady stuff for a 16-year old from Central Louisiana who barely has his Driver's License.
Rivet will open his sophomore season at the LSU High School Classic on Saturday.