Eula Josephine Lagrange Larose
April 28, 2008
Adam "T-Dent" LaCoste
April 30, 2008
On the hottest day of the year so far, local high school track and field athletes did not melt at Tad Gormley Stadium for the Class 3-5A regionals last week.
In fact, three relay teams and 25 athletes in individual events qualified for the state championships to be held Saturday at LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium.
The top three finishers in each event go to state.
Although New Orleans area schools Brother Martin (boys with 123.5 points) and John Ehret (girls with 81) claimed the team regional titles, local coaches felt good about their squads’ performances.
“I’m pleased with all the kids; they put their all out there for me,” said H.L. Bourgeois head track coach Joe Riley. “We’ve been going at it since January. It’s been a long season.”
“I think we held up and had our times close to what we had coming in,” said South Terrebonne head track coach Stephen Barba. “For the most part, we did what we could.”
“We got our guys in that we expected to go,” said South Lafourche head track coach Joey Guidroz. “I would like to have had a couple of other guys go to the state meet, but I’m satisfied.”
First-year Terrebonne head track coach Chelsey Lucas is impressed at the turnaround her squad has made.
“It was good because for the first year we have a team that can compete,” Lucas said. “Before, we didn’t have a team that could compete in regionals. Overall, I think they did a wonderful job.”
The earlier start time and warm weather played only a small role during the meet.
“The heat had an effect on our distance runners,” said Guidroz. “I was curious about what the heat would do to us, and it did affect us.”
Here are the athletes competing for state titles and their results in the regionals.
Terrebonne
Alain Verdin – girls’ high jump (second; 5 feet, 4 inches)
Mark Lawson-boys’ long jump (second; 22 feet, 5.5 inches) & 100-meter dash (first; 10.85)
Skyla Jackson – girls’ 1,600- (third; 5:52:32) and 3,200-meter runs (first; 12:36:83)
Cierra Bonvillian – girls’ 800-meter run (third; 2:30:19)
Girls’ 1,600-meter relay – Margaret Smith, Alaina Verdin, Cierra Bonvillian and Blaire Erdman (second; 4:10:08)
H.L. Bourgeois
Brianne Bergeron – girls’ pole vault (first; 9 feet, 6 inches)
Tiffany Lofton – girls’ shot put (first; 37 feet, 8.5 inches)
Brittany Fitzgerald – girls’ long jump (second; 17 feet, 4.75 inches)
Christian Williams – boys’ long jump (first; 23 feet, 3.5 inches) and triple jump (first; 44 feet, 6 inches)
Caleb Williams – boys’ triple jump (second; 44 feet, 2.5 inches), 200- (second; 22:08) and 400-meter dashes (first; 49:29)
Boys’ 1,600-meter relay – Tyler Lirette, Jared Rivere, Brandon Thibodaux and Caleb Williams (first; 3:26:19)
South Lafourche
Tyler Guidry – boys’ shot put (first; 55 feet, 10 inches) and discus (first; 148 feet, 5.5 inches)
Savannah Lerille – girls’ javelin (second; 123 feet, 4 inches)
Colby Parra – boys’ javelin (second; 176 feet, 4 inches)
Chris Long – boys’ 800-meter run (third; 2:04:40)
Central Lafourche
Kiera Smith – girls’ shot put (third; 36 feet, 5.5 inches) and discus (third; 98 feet, 1 inch)
Jake Daigle – boys’ pole vault (third; 12 feet, 6 inches)
Stuart Theriot – boys’ 1,600-meter run (third; 4:33:41)
Jessica Brown – girls’ 300-meter hurdles (third; 49:28)
Mia Eschete – girls’ 3,200-meter run (third; 13:26:77)
South Terrebonne
Brad Stoufflet – boys’ pole vault (first; 14 feet)
Brooke Dominique – girls’ pole vault (third; 9 feet)
Deondre Young – boys’ 110-meter hurdles (first; 15:28)
Kiley Louviere – boys’ 110- (third; 15:46) and 300-meter hurdles (second; 40:75)
Girls’ 400-meter relay – Marhiya Bingham, Indecia Nixon, Hilary Marts and Brittany Portier (third; 51:11)
Thibodaux
Jamal King – boys’ discus (143 feet, .25 inch)
Assumption
Dani Daigle – girls’ javelin (130 feet, 9inches)
Ciera Bell – girls’ discus (first; 99 feet, 2.5 inches)
Team Rankings
Boys
1) Brother Martin 123.5; 2) Jesuit 78; 3) H.L. Bourgeois 60; 4) South Lafourche 49; 5) South Terrebonne 42; 6) L.W. Higgins 38; 7) West Jefferson 34; 8) Terrebonne 28; 9) St. Augustine 24; 10) John Ehret 22; 11) Thibodaux 21.5; 12) Archbishop Rummel 18; 13) Central Lafourche 14; 14) Chalmette 5; 15) Bonnabel 1.
Girls
1) John Ehret 81; 2) West Jefferson 72; 3) Mt. Carmel 56; 4) Dominican 53; 5) Terrebonne 48; 6) Academy of Our Lady 46; 7) Assumption 36; 8) Central Lafourche 33; 8) H.L. Bourgeois 33; 10) L.W. Higgins 28; 11) Chalmette 24; 12) South Terrebonne 16; 13) Thibodaux 14; 14) South Lafourche 11; 15) Grace King 5; 16) Bonnabel 2.
H.L. Bourgeois’ Brittany Fitzgerald placed second in the long jump at 17 feet, 4.75 inches. * Photo by KEYON JEFF
