He can fly: Thibodaux leaper wins big at Tiger Relays

Thibodaux High School senior Trymaine Samanie laughs out loud when asked if he can fly.

“Of course not,” he said with a smile.

But on Friday afternoon at the Tiger Relays, it was surely hard to tell.

Samanie was a monster in the field events for Thibodaux, winning the long jump, triple jump and high jump events for the Tigers team, which defended its home turf and won the meet’s title.

The Tigers scored 101 points on the afternoon, outlasting runner-up Assumption, which recorded 60.5 points.

For his troubles, Samanie was named the meet’s Field MVP – something he said was fulfilling to earn while performing in front of his family and friends.

“To get that honor here at home feels great,” he said. “I had a lot of people cheering me on today, and that just gave me a lot of motivation to go out and defend our home meet, and I was 100 percent blessed to be able to do all of the things that I did today. It was special.”

The Thibodaux high standout was on fire on Friday.

In the high jump, Samanie had the most drama, winning the event title with a victorious leap of 6-feet, 4-inches – a mark just shy of his personal record.

Samanie cleared the bar and won the title on his final attempt, letting out a loud exhale as he sat on the mat.

He then took three stabs at 6-feet, 6-inches, just for show. He nipped the bar by a hair on all three tries.

“High jump was tough for me, because I was battling fatigue a little bit,” Samanie said. “I was doing that at the same time as I was doing triple, and it was all right after I had done the long jump, so my legs were definitely tired.”

In the sand pits, Samanie had stiff challenges, as well, but found a way to outlast the competition.

In the long jump, the Thibodaux senior cleared 21-feet, 10-inches to outlast East St. John standout and LSU football commitment Damonte Coxie, who finished as the runner-up with a leap of 21-feet, 8-inches.

Ellender’s Reginald Williams and Terrebonne’s Blake Verret were the only other players to clear the 20-foot mark in the event.

Williams posted a 21-foot, 3-inch leap, and Verret cleared 20-feet, 7-inches.

In the triple jump, Samanie had his easiest go, posting a mammoth 46-foot, 7-inch leap, which outlasted Coxie’s 44-foot, 7-inch runner-up try.

Samanie was a whisker away from a jump that was even better, as well. He foot faulted on his opening leap, which was measured and marked at 48-feet-plus.

The senior leaper said he felt good throughout the meet, and when in the sand pits, he knew that he was spot-on.

“I was hitting my marks,” Samanie said. “When you’re hitting your mark, and you’re in the air, then landing in the sand, you just know that a particular jump that you just did was an awesome one. I had a few of those today. I’m still working, and I think I can get better. But today was a good day.”

It wasn’t half bad for his teammates, either.

Donnell Adair added to the team’s momentum in the field events, scoring the discus title in the early minutes of the meet. Noah Robertson also pitched in a first-place mark, earning the meet’ pole vault title.

On the track, the Tigers only got one first-place tally, but it was a big one.

Thibodaux’s 4X100-meter relay team scored a victory, led by Donovan Isom, Adair, Steven Hamilton and Rochon Washington.

Tigers coach Daniel Trosclair said he was pleased with his team’s performance, calling it a total team effort.

“We had some great individual performances, obviously,” Trosclair said. “But everyone pitched in and did their job. We’re peaking at the right time, and we look forward to getting stronger as the year goes on.”

Samadie agreed.

He said he thinks the Tigers have what it takes to be a contender throughout the season.

Of course, having a competitor capable of winning three jumping events in a day goes a long way in that success, as well.

“We just have to stick together and keep pushing,” Samadie said. “We’re getting better, and I think that for us, the sky is the limit.

It’s funny, he mentioned the sky after the meet.

During it, he nearly jumped over it.

THIBODAUX GIRLS ROLL

The Thibodaux girls’ track team was also successful in protecting the team’s home turf.

The Lady Tigers won Friday’s meet with scoring balance, using 141 points to outlast Vandebilt Catholic, which scored 117 points to take the runner-up spot.

The one-two punch of Haley Alcorn and Jamaya Holmes did a ton of damage for the Lady Tigers on the afternoon.

Alcorn won three titles on the night, scoring victories in the 100-meter dash, the 200-mater dash and also the 4×200-meter relay.

In the pits, Holmes won titles in the long jump and triple jump to help her team.

Alcorn was named the meet’s track MVP, while Holmes took field MVP honors.

Also victorious for the Lady Tigers were Skyler Guillot (javelin) and Destiny Cole (discus).

Samanie