When meet workers brought out a leaf blower to clear water off the discus ring late Thursday afternoon, you knew conditions were not ideal.
But when rain falls at a track meet, competitors cautiously make the best of it. Southern Lab’s Denim Hunt and Ronald Johnson and others did at the LHSAA outdoor track & field meet for teams in Class 1A, B and C.
“I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw what happened,” Hunt said of the 400-meter dash race. “I kept my arms moving. … I had to push through and keep going.
“It was either going to be me first and Ronald second, or Ronald first and my second. We knew we were going to get it.”
Hunt, a sophomore, won the Class 1A boys 400 for the second straight year. He finished in 48.29 seconds, just ahead of Johnson at 48.35.
The two Kittens made their move to pass Hamilton Christian’s Kaleb Bigwood, who fell in the final meters of the race at LSU’s Bernie Moore Stadium.
“The best part of it was the way we finished the race strong,” Johnson said.
As impressive as the 400 finish was for the Kittens was, no local team made it to the awards stand on the first day of the LHSAA’s three-day outdoor meet.
There were superlatives to note. Slaughter Community Charter, a District 9-1A rival of Southern Lab, had just three girls entered. The Knights soared into second place and finished third with 42 points.
SCC got two first-place finishes. First, Destiny Clarkston won the shot put with a toss of 37 feet, 8¼ inches. Hours later, Slaughter’s Madison Easley won the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 21.54 seconds.
East Iberville’s Malajia Hubbard won the 100 hurdles with a personal best of 15.65 seconds.
Southern Lab was fifth in the boys team race with 38 points, while another 9-1A rival, Kentwood, finished fourth at 42. There was notable finish for Kentwood’s Jermaine Brown.
After finishing a close second in the 100 meters early in the meet, Brown came back to win the 200 in 21.53 seconds, edging LSU football commitment Harlem Berry, the nation’s top running back prospect for 2025. Berry placed second at 21.80.
The winners
Ouachita Christian scored 77 points to win the 1A boys title and Louise McGehee had 73 to claim the 1A girls crown.
Other champions included Gibsland-Coleman boys (119 points) and Simpson girls (78 points) in Class C. The Midland girls won the final event, the 4x400 relay, to claim their Class B title (64 points).
Episcopal School of Acadiana grabbed the lead in the final events to finish with 72 points to win the Class B boys title. A 3,200 meters win by Anderson Frank, who swept the Class B distance events, paced the Falcons.
Highland Baptist’s Tyler Bissett (1A boys) and Reese Jeane of Evans also pulled off distance sweeps.